Andhra street food trail with Anand Deverakonda

The South Indian states of Andhra and Telengana have a vibrant street food culture. Anand Deverakonda plays a chef of a street food stall in Andhra Pradesh in his recent film Middle Class Melodies. Here he shares how foodies can eat their way through on their next trip to Andhra Pradesh in south India.

The big fat Andhra dosa

The sheer variety of dosas you get in Andhra cuisine is amazing. It’s easy to find regular dosas with chutney across street stalls and fancy restaurants in Hyderabad. If you visit the beachside city of Visakhapatnam, I would suggest the upma dosa. It is a twist which combines two breakfast items of upma and dosa and there are many beachside stalls in the city that offer this dish. Some street side outfits offer over 100 varieties of dosa and they are packed with people trying out dosas from morning to midnight. Guntur, in Andhra Pradesh, famous for its spicy chilli and mirchi bajji is known for its pulihara dosa, a dosa where rice mixed with lime is slid into the dosa crepe and eaten with sides of sambar and chutney. The Bombay chutney I make in the movie Middle Class Melodies is a popular side dish to go with a breakfast of idlis, dosas and puris.

Telugu staples from grandma’s kitchen

Even as the eating out culture gains popularity I find home cooks and heritage cuisine most authentic. My grandmother’s home in Nagarkurnool is south of the capital Hyderabad. This is where I grew up tasting authentic Andhra meals like the staple dal pappu flavoured with a dollop of ghee and eaten with local varieties of rice. Simple home cooked lunches in our villages traditionally remain a multi-course meal. It has a pappu or dal, a fried vegetable like okra or potato, fish pulusu, fiery mutton and fish curries.

Biryani blues in Hyderabad

While most Indians associate biryani with north India, the Hyderabadi variety is a unique speciality. There are several versions of the biryani available across Andhra Pradesh. The famous Hyderabadi biryani has come down from the royal kitchens of the super wealthy Nizams of Hyderabad since the 18th century while the humble Guntur biryani has many varieties. One of my favourites is the ulavu charu biryani made in a tangy soup with tamarind and marinated chicken pieces or vegetables that is unique to the state.

Sweet something

Andhra desserts offer huge variety with local and Persian and north Indian influences. The malpuri kova is a dessert easily found on street side sweet makers in Guntur which are deep fried disc of sooji, yoghurt and flour that are served in a flavoured sugar syrup. In Hyderabad the Nizami bread ka meeta is a must try.