Food of Telangana

As in last TSPSC exam (AEE) there were questions about Food.

Food of Telangana

Telangana may be a newly formed state in India but its cuisine retains the old Midas touch, flavour and traditional ways of preparing various dishes is still prevalent! Yes, there is a way of serving various dishes and relishing daily meals. 

Festivals are times when special desserts are prepared with the whole family participating in the affair. Well, it is as much a family union during preparation of pickles to naivedyam as it is during celebrations of any family event with music and dances!

Tangy and Spicy Food of Telangana

The cuisine of Telangana is known for its hot and spicy taste. Hot pickles are a must with daily meals. Curry is cooked using lentils (

dal), tomato and tamarind. The way Telugu speaking people in Telangana cook food, prepare snacks, curry (known as kora) and sweets also varies according to the place they are residing in due to local influence and community they belong to. For instance, in Telangana, staple food includes millet bread or roti. In neighbouring Andhra, people prefer to eat rice while in the Rayalaseema region,ragi is more popular.

Breads  eaten in Telangana also include those made of jowar and bajra apart from the daily bread prepared using millet. Some characteristics of the cuisine of Karnataka state, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh too can be found in the Telangana cuisine. 

Common and Popular Dishes from Telangana

The cuisine of Telangana is the spiciest of all Indian cuisines! Koora means curry and people relish both vegetarian as well as non vegetarian dishes. Sajja rotte, makka rotte, uppudi (broken) rice, jonna rotte (sorghum), vankaya brinjal pulusu, arintikaya banana pulusu or vepudu, palakoora(spinach dish with lentils),boti, thunti koora(prepared using red sorrel leaves), sarva pindi(spicy pancake eaten for breakfast) are some popular dishes of the region. 

Jowar roti, jowar ghatka, maize vadas (makka garelu) are staple breads eaten during meals. Vegetable curries include tomato kura, salla charu, dosakaya pappu, pachi pulusu among other dishes.
 
Non vegetarian dishes include kodi pulusu, mamsam (meat) vepudu. Other popular non vegetarian dishes are spicy mutton fry known asgolichina mamsam, Telangana mutton curry, mutton pulao, kodi pulao, komzu pitta roast, talakaya kura, mutton liver fry and flavoured chicken curry known as oorru kodi pulusu.

Sweets and Savouries in Telangana

Savouries and snacks in Telangana state comprise of chakinalu or sakinalu (prepared during Makar Sankranti), garijelu cooked with sweet stuffing or even with mutton and chicken keema, madugulu, crispy pharda pheni etc. Bobbattu is a snack made from wheat or sooji and filled with lentils and jaggery. Ariselu is a sweet prepared using jaggery and rice. 

Well, one of everyone's favourite is chakodi snack!Boondi mithai can be commonly seen during festivals and auspicious occasions. These also make for a tasty evening snack! 

Other sweets prevalent in Telangana includeboondi laddu, rava laddu, ariselu, poornalu or boorelu, bhakshalu or bobbatlu (polelu), kakinada khaja, payasam, gavvalu, chakodi, sugar pongal or chakkera pongali and laskora undalu (coconut ladoo). 

Other sweets which are as popular in Telangana are boondi, jeedilu, malai khaja, palathalikalu, ravva kesari, pappuchekka, kobbari lavuju, vannappalu and pootharekulu. 

          

Rural cuisine is cooked on matti poyyi which is a century old stove still used in villages. Mud pots are also used for cooking. Jowar, bajra and ragi are used along with rice which is regarded as a symbol of prosperity.