Andhra Pradesh Thali
After exploring different Indian state cuisines for over a month as part of our weekend thali project, I had to personally get back to my roots this weekend with a thali from Andhra Pradesh. While wanting to represent the state that I hail from was a big reason, the bigger reason was that I was just really missing eating the food!!
Vikram and I have experienced the Andhra Pradesh Thali in different ways before marriage. My father hails from Machilipatnam and my mother from Nellore, both places in Andhra Pradesh, so the Andhra Pradesh Thali that I know of, is really just the food that I grew up with at home with strong influences from these two areas. Being vegetarian and making the dishes the same way as Amma (my mother) makes them, it was funny how I ended up making this entire meal without onions or garlic and didn’t really give it a second thought!! Vikram on the other hand remembers the Andhra Thali by the Sunday lunches he had in Mysuru and Benguluru in the various restaurants that served the “Andhra meal” - with rice, pappu (dal), dollops of ghee and a spicy meat accompaniment. So honoring both of our experiences with the Andhra meal, we will represent the Andhra Pradesh Thali this weekend, as a “Priya’s vegetarian Thali” and “Vikram’s non-vegetarian thali” :-)
Priya’s Vegetarian Thali
When we cooked the Maharashtrian Thali, a lot of people were impressed that we made the Goda Masala and Kala Masala from scratch. Well in this Andhra Pradesh Thali there were no such heroics. A lot of the base powders and pickles in this meal were prepared by Amma and couriered to me from India (I know, I know - I am spoilt!!), so there was no requirement to make these from scratch. Vikram’s comment to me while making this meal was - “you can’t make the dish taste bad even if you tried since it has Amma’s home-made podi (powder) in it”!!
Karvepaku Podi (top-right), Annala Podi (top-center), Ghee (left-middle), Aavakaya (bottom-left)
Any Andhra Pradesh meal has to start with a few bites of hot white rice mixed with pickles/powders and ghee to get the taste buds activated. Karvepaku Podi is a powder made out of curry leaves and Annala Podi is a powder made out of lentils. Aavakaya is the trademark mango pickle from Andhra Pradesh. All these were made by Amma, so I have shared links to recipes that come closest to the way she makes them.
(Side Note - Hot rice + plain dal + ghee +Aavakaya on the side = a taste of heaven on earth!).
Charu Podi (top), Pulsu Podi (bottom-left), Koora Podi (bottom-right)
These are the home-made podis (powders) from Amma that are worth their weight in gold in our home!!
Charu Podi (or Rasam Powder) has been used to make the Pappu Charu recipe and the Koora Podi (Andhra curry powder) has been used to make the Nunna Vonkai (Stuffed eggplant fry). While I did not make the Pulsu (sambhar), this weekend it’s also represented in the picture. The recipes that come closest to the way Amma makes them, are linked above.
Since we had already prepared the Pulihora (Tamarind Rice) in the Ganesh Chaturthi Thali, this weekend we prepared the Nimmakaya Pulihora or Lemon Rice. Tangy and spicy, this is a super easy rice preparation and can also be made with Quinoa if you are trying to avoid eating rice.
Traditionally this dish is made with baby eggplants (Vonkai) stuffed with Koora Podi and shallow fried in oil till the eggplants are cooked. I make it a bit more healthier by blanching the eggplants, filling it with the powder and then searing it in a little oil so that it gets crispy outside. Either way this dish is extremely tasty and one of my favorite go-to dishes.
Pulsu Pettina Bendakaya Koora (Okra with Tamarind)
I love Okra and I love the sour-sweet taste of tamarind. This is a dish from Machilipatnam that I learnt from my father and it essentially is Okra tossed in a spicy tamarind sauce. I actually couldn’t quite find the exact recipe on the internet so am posting the link to the Bendakaya Pulsu recipe that is a gravy version of this dish. (Note - I did not add any sugar or jaggery to this dish).
Amaranth leaves are a green leafy vegetable that you can get in Indian Stores around the US. This is a quick, easy and healthy dish combining boiled potatoes and fried Amaranth leaves which go very well with each other. I have not added onions or garlic to this dish but they can be added to further enhance the taste.
Pappu is “Dal” in the Telugu language. You can make Pappu out of various vegetables but the Tomato Pappu is a simple satisfying accompaniment to any Andhra meal. The only other dal that tops this in my list is the Maamidikaya Pappu (raw mango dal) which I unfortunately couldn’t make this weekend, since I couldn’t find raw mangoes.
This dish is similar to the rasam that we made in the Thali from Tamil Nadu but it also has dal added to it making it more full-bodied. You don’t need to make a Pulsu (sambhar) if you are making the Pappu Charu since it is substantial by itself.
Badam Payasam (Almond Kheer)
We decided to make Badam Payasam, which is a Kheer made out of blanched almonds as the sweet dish for the meal. To truly give it an Andhra twist, you need to add a pinch of pacha karpuram (or edible camphor) to it. Yumm.
Every Andhra meal ends with Perugu (plain yogurt) and rice, mixed in with either fried curd chillies or a pickle. We also added in a glass of Majiga (buttermilk) to complement the meal.
Vikram’s non-vegetarian thali had two meat dishes added to it - Rayalseema Mutton Vepudu and Guntur Kodi Koora. He wanted to make the dishes he remembered eating in the Andhra meals in Benguluru and it looks like the dishes came out pretty close to what he had eaten before.
Rayalseema Mutton Vepudu (Mutton Fry)
This is a spicy mutton fry recipe from the region of Rayalseema in Andhra Pradesh.
A spicy chicken curry prepared in Andhra style, the addition of poppy seeds sets this dish apart.
This weekend Andhra Pradesh Thali was a welcome detour back to the familiar comforting flavors that we know and love at our home. After this much needed break, we plan to venture next weekend into the unknown once again as we continue on our virtual culinary exploration through the various Indian state cuisines. Hope you join us again!
