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We’re A Little Late With Lilly Singh, But She Is Right On Time

Ash Griffith | September 23, 2019

Topics: comedy, Indian, Late Show, lgbtw, lilly singh, NBC, poc, politics, woc, woman of color, Youtube, youtuber

As the only LGBTQ woman of color with a late-night show in 2019, Lilly Singh is kind of a big deal.

Late-night television has long been plagued with the same old exhausting issue — it’s overflowing with bland cis straight white men telling their overworked, hacky jokes. While Stephen Colbert brings a dorky flair, it’s still mostly the same boring garbage that we have seen for decades.

Buckle up, bros, because the tides are finally changing. YouTuber Lilly Singh is knocking down walls with her new late-night television series, A Little Late with Lilly Singh. Singh is currently the only LGBTQ woman of color with a late-night show. Previously, Wanda Sykes had a late-night show on FOX from 2009-2010, but it was cancelled after one season. So help me, if NBC tries to pull the same crap…

For those not in the know, Singh originally came to prominence thanks to her YouTube channel, ||superwoman||, which mostly featured comedy videos. Usually they were parodies of her parents, and life as an Indian woman. She still updates her channel, which to date has over 14 million subscribers and over 3 billion views.

She’s kind of a big deal.

“An Indian-Canadian woman with her own late night show? Now that is a dream come true,” Singh told Entertainment Weekly. “I’m thrilled to bring it to life on NBC, and I hope my parents consider this to be as exciting as a grandchild.”

Singh takes over the show and the 1:35 am time slot after Late Night with Seth Myers from previous host Carson Daly. The show premiered last Monday with first guest Mindy Kaling of The Office fame, and is starting off well so far, holding steady from Carson Daly’s previous ratings and scoring high marks in reviews for the show’s first week.

Not too shabby for coming full circle. 

A Little Late with Lilly Singh airs Monday through Thursday nights at 1:35am on NBC. 

RVA Mag dines at Hyderabad Biryani House for Iftar

Lana Ferguson | June 16, 2017

Topics: fast, Hyderabad Biryani House, Iftar, India, Indian, Islam, Ramadan

This past Wednesday, the owners of Hyderabad Biryani House graciously opened their doors to the RVA Mag team to celebrate Iftar, the evening meal in which Muslims end their daily fasting during the month-long Ramadan holiday.  

HBH is a little piece of India tucked away in a small Henrico shopping center on Hungary Spring Road serving up authentic Indian cuisine for more than six years now.

The smell of spice and tradition filled the air, causing a nose-tingling sensation. The smells of the food were strong and the taste was even stronger. Regulars come in to indulge in a comforting taste of home. Newcomers, like myself on the other hand, found a sampling of food and spices they’ve probably never tasted before. Some of the people at our table even had beads of sweat speckling their foreheads because of the level of spice.

HBH is the real deal. Owner Moiz and his wife Hafsa Sana welcomed us with open arms and plates on top of plates of food.

While Hafsa Sana is the main cook in the kitchen, pumping out all sorts of flavorful dishes, Moiz took the time to sit with us, talk more about Islam, HBH’s food, and Ramadan.

The holiday is a month of fasting (Sawm) to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief. We arrived at the restaurant around 8:30 p.m., because during Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise (about 4:15 a.m.) to sunset.

Moiz explained how Muslims cannot  eat or drink anything during Ramadan, they also try to keep themselves from taking part in anything that could be considered harmful or a waste of time, like smoking, gossiping, or watching too much TV.

Families across town gathered at HBH to break fast that night. The Arabic word for breaking fast in the evening is called Iftar. The food is shared in a family-style way.

To break fast, people began with light foods like fruits and water. We were brought out bananas, apples, pomegranates, and dates.

The reason dates, or “tmar”, are one of the most popular fruits to break fast is rooted in the religious teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. He said, “When one of you is fasting, he should break his fast with dates; but if he cannot get any, then (he should break his fast) with water, for water is purifying.“

After eating the fruits, the real indulgence began with the dishes Hafsa Sana brought our table to sample.

We started with deep-fried samosas filled with potatoes, peas, and spices giving the mouth something warm and indulgent to bite into after not eating all day. The soft potatoes are the start of the food that really sticks to your ribs, keeping you full at night and into the day during the fast.

The chicken haleem is one of the more popular dishes at HBH and back in India, Moiz said there are certain places that will make millions of the dish during Ramadan alone. This was the first dish we had where the Indian spices were prominent.

Moiz explained how haleem is cooked for long periods of time, ranging upwards of seven to eight hours. During that time the meat, spices, wheat, and lentils blend together creating a pasty consistency. It looks like a spicy Indian porridge topped with nuts, mint, and lime.

Another trademark dish is the restaurant’s namesake Hyderabad Dum Biryani. Biryani is a world-famous Indian dish, native to Hyderabad, the capital of the southern Indian state of Telangana. A meat, like chicken or goat, is cooked with basmati rice, and then, of course, spices are added. The meat soaks up most of the spice in the dish, so this is a good one for those that need a more mellow taste. The goat in our Biryani was so tender it fell off the bone and could be cut with a fork.

For more adventurous spice-lovers, HBH’s Chicken 65 dish (above) is the one to try. Red chilies give the fried chicken its bright appearance. This spice is a different kind than the other dishes, subtle at first, sitting on the back of the tongue. The more you eat, the more the spice level rises. For the Chinese fans out there, it’s similar to General Tso’s chicken, but with spice rather than a sweet sauce.

Lastly, my favorite dish of the night was an okra fry called Bhindi. The only time I’d had okra previously was fried or in a gumbo and there’s no denying the vegetable is delicious. Hafsa Sana sauteed the okra with cashews and spices giving me a whole new perspective on a vegetable I thought I knew everything about.

The menu is a wide range including vegetarian-friendly dishes, traditional Indian food, BBQ specialties, and even Indo-Chinese fusion.

Whether you can make it during Ramadan or not, HBH is open for a lunch buffet during the day and then dinner at night every day except Tuesday.

It’s time the rest of Richmond knew about one of its best-kept culinary secrets.

Be on the lookout for more in depth coverage from RVA Mag on Ramadan.

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