Delectable Delicacies Cuisine of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh has a different meaning for food. It is not just something to fill the stomach or keep it from growling. It is a taste that lingers with an accompanying aroma that haunts the senses.
Over the centuries, cooking in what constitutes the modern State of Andhra Pradesh has been marinated in the exotic styles of such distance lands as Persia and Arabia to enrich the local epicurean delights that the Andras like the Satavahanas, Vishnukundins and Kakatiyas indulged in till the later 14th century. Food fir for kings used to be cooked with great patience and the tradition continues. The Dakshin (South)which was ruled by such mighty rulers as the Satavahanas, Ikshvakus, Vishnukundins and Kakatiya came to be called ‘Deccan’ by the Muslim rulers.
Thus Deccani food is a blend of the Muslim forms of cooking with that of Andhra, Tamil Kannada and Maratha the regions that formed areas of the Deccani kingdom. The Qutb Shahis, who ruled during the 16th and 17th centuries, had links with Persia, Arabia and other Muslim countries, rather than the Moghals and Muslim rulers of Delhi, from whom they declared independence.
But when the Golconda kingdom of the Qutb Shahis fell to the Moghal invasion, the ‘Moghlai’ became inevitable. Though given the nomenclature of ‘Moghlai’, Hyderabadi cuisine is distinctly ‘Deccani’, representing the erstwhile kingdom of Bidar, Golconda, Kalyan, Gulbarga and vijayangar.
Food from other regions of the State like the Coastal Andhra comprising nine districts bordering the Bay of Bengal, Rayalaseema and Telangana too have their specialities and are popular elsewhere too.
Over the centuries, cooking in what constitutes the modern State of Andhra Pradesh has been marinated in the exotic styles of such distance lands as Persia and Arabia to enrich the local epicurean delights that the Andras like the Satavahanas, Vishnukundins and Kakatiyas indulged in till the later 14th century. Food fir for kings used to be cooked with great patience and the tradition continues. The Dakshin (South)which was ruled by such mighty rulers as the Satavahanas, Ikshvakus, Vishnukundins and Kakatiya came to be called ‘Deccan’ by the Muslim rulers.
Thus Deccani food is a blend of the Muslim forms of cooking with that of Andhra, Tamil Kannada and Maratha the regions that formed areas of the Deccani kingdom. The Qutb Shahis, who ruled during the 16th and 17th centuries, had links with Persia, Arabia and other Muslim countries, rather than the Moghals and Muslim rulers of Delhi, from whom they declared independence.
But when the Golconda kingdom of the Qutb Shahis fell to the Moghal invasion, the ‘Moghlai’ became inevitable. Though given the nomenclature of ‘Moghlai’, Hyderabadi cuisine is distinctly ‘Deccani’, representing the erstwhile kingdom of Bidar, Golconda, Kalyan, Gulbarga and vijayangar.
Food from other regions of the State like the Coastal Andhra comprising nine districts bordering the Bay of Bengal, Rayalaseema and Telangana too have their specialities and are popular elsewhere too.
