“Rayalaseema Ruchulu”.

Every month, more than one new restaurant is coming up in Hyderabad. Long ago we had mostly Multi-cuisine (Indian & Continental), Mughlai, South Indian, North Indian, Chinese and Andhra Meal restaurants. But today we have a number of exclusive restaurants catering to State specific, region specific and international tastes. There are restaurants serving only Jain food, Gujarati food, Punjabi food, Thai, Arabian, Italian, Lebanese, Moroccan, Mexican and so on. This apart almost every international fast food chain’s outlet is available in the city. In addition to all these; are restaurants catering to the tastes of some very small areas of the country, like Rayalaseema. Rayalaseema is the southern region of Andhra Pradesh State, consisting of four Districts, Kurnool, Anantapur, Cuddapah and Chitoor.  

After writing about the Telangana Food Festivals, it was quite natural for me to think of the foods from the neighboring area of Rayalaseema and of the growing popularity of this cuisine in Hyderabad. About seven years ago, two restaurants, Rayalaseema Ruchulu and Kritunga introduced Rayalaseema food to Hyderabad. The initial concept of these restaurants was perhaps to offer the taste of authentic home food to the people of Rayalaseema visiting Hyderabad or settled in Hyderabad. However, these new tastes and food have become very popular among many other people, prompting these restaurants to open a number of branches spread over the city.

“Rayalaseema Ruchulu” means “Tastes of Rayalaseema” and “Kritunga” means the region through which the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra flow, suggesting that they serve food of Rayalaseema. As in Telangana, this cuisine is also quite hot and spicy. Red Chillies and Chilly powder is a common ingredient in most dishes with a very rich and distinct taste. Some items are similar to Andhra and Telangana foods but with a different taste and some are very distinct like Ragi Sankati, Thalakaya Kura, Natu Kodi Biryani, Natu Kodi Pulusu, Gongura Mamsam, Gongura Pappu, Peethala Kura, Brain Fry, Liver Fry, Prawn Iguru, Roast Chicken, Gutthi Vankaya Kura and many more.

In conclusion, I can confidently say that everyone from Andhra Pradesh would love the food of Rayalaseema as we are already accustomed to hot and spicy food. As for others, they may request the chef to prepare the dishes a little mild, and then they too would find the food exotic. Finally, the food at these restaurants is not expensive! At the very next opportunity, do experience “Rayalaseema Ruchulu”, you will thank me for the advise!