Gongura

Gongura ("Hibiscus cannabinus") ( _te. గోంగూర) is a relative of the Roselle. Gongura "pacchadi" is quintessentially Andhra Pradesh cuisine along with aavakaaya "pacchadi" (pickle). While it has many culinary uses, the most popular is the pickled version. In the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, it is known as "Puntikura". Gongura is a very rich source of Iron, vitamins, folic acid and anti-oxidants essential for human nutrition [Indian Home Cooking, S. Saran ans S. Lyness, 2004 ] .

Gongura comes in two varieties, green stemmed leaf and red stemmed. The red stemmed variety is more sour than the green stemmed variety. Gongura is popular in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In Maharashtra markets, it is called "ambaada". It is a summer crop and the hotter the place the more sour the leaf gets.

Other well known recipes made with Gongura as the main ingradient are "Gongura Pappu" (Lentils), "Gongura mamsam" (goat/mutton) and "Gongura royyalu" (shrimp).

Apart from the curries there are many varieties of pickles made with gongura such as:

#"Pulla Gongura" (Gongura + Red Chillies)
#"Pulihara" Gongura (Gongura and Tamarind)

Guntur produces the best quality Gongura. Farmers pick Gongura early in the mornings so that the moisture is retained for the longest possible time.

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