Eating Out

The rich heritage and culture of Andhra Pradesh are reflected in the culinary skills of its people. The Andhra and Hyderabadi cuisine includes a wholesome meal accompanied by hot tasty pickles or 'Biryani', since the Moghal influence in the Deccan made 'Moghlai' cooking popular. Since the state includes three regions of Coastal Andhra, Ravalaseema and Telangana; they have their distinctive style of cooking. Chillies and spice are used in abundance but also by and large, the cuisine is vegetarian.

Moghlai
Hyderabad is known for its wholesome Biryani and a wide range of non-vegetarian as well as vegetarian fare. The non-vegetarian dishes include 'paya' and 'zubaan'. Most of these dishes are available in the evening and before sunrise in hundreds of hotels and restaurants during the fasting month of Ramzan and are popular meals to break or begin the fast with.

Apart from the non-vegetarian food, Moghlai also includes vegetarian dishes like the brinjal in the 'bagara baigan', using tamarind and spices. Dalcha is a watery dal in which 'kaddu is used. 'Bagara tamatar' and 'mirchi ka salan' are equally rich in spice and chillies and `bagara khana' makes up for the vegetarians who miss out on the biryani.

Coastal Food
The coastal region of the State offers a wide choice as far as vegetarian cooking and a typical Andhra meal has lots of chillies and is often accompanied by pickles. The chillies grown in the region are highly potent and this gives the special flavour to the pickles. Curried prawns and fish with rice are specialities in many coastal Andhra towns and cities. Rice is the staple food in Andhra Pradesh and forms the main dish even in Moghlai cooking. One can also find a lot of tasty non-vegetarian dishes blended with green leafy vegetables, like 'palak mutton', 'methi chicken', 'kheema methi' and 'mutton ambada, which has resulted from combination of Hyderabad and Andhra cuisine.

'Avakai' is a hot and tangy mango pickle and one might find it prepared in every household during the summer. Gongura, known as 'ambada' in Hindi and Urdu, is a sour-tasting leaf that goes into either 'dal' or is converted into'chutney', which is another speciality in Andhra. While raw mango pickle is the hot favourite, others include lemon, gooseberry, 'Gongura' and even ripe chillies pickles. Ripe red chillies and tamarind are used to make 'chutney' that is preserved throughout the year.

Sweets
Sweets and 'kheer' form the part of a meal on special occasions and festivals in any part of the State. While `Sheer Khorma' is the milky vermicelli sweet popular in Hyderabad, other dessert delicacies include "Double-ka-meetha (a bread pudding)" and "Khubani-ka-meetha", a syrupy specialty made with apricots and lots of sugar. In other parts of Andhra, a rice and milk delicacy is "ksheerannam" in which jaggery (gur) and powdered cardamom enhance the taste.

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