Gongura
Encyclopedia
Roselle (plant)
The roselle is a species of Hibiscus native to the Old World tropics, used for the production of bast fibre and as an infusion. It is an annual or perennial herb or woody-based subshrub, growing to tall...
, is an edible plant grown in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Culinary Information
Gongura pacchadi is quintessentially TeluguTelugu people
The Telugu people or Telugu Prajalu are an ethnic group of India. They are the native speakers of the Telugu language, the most commonly spoken language in India after Hindi and Bengali...
cuisine along with pacchadi (chutney or relish). While it has many culinary uses, the most popular is the pickled version. Although Gongura is widely consumed all over Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, Guntur
Guntur
Guntur , is a city and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located to the north and west of the Bay of Bengal. It is approximately to the south of the national capital, New Delhi and south east of state capital, Hyderabad. Guntur is the fourth largest city in Andhra...
Gongura is more popular in hotels, restaurants, eateries and food joints. In the Telengana region of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
it is known as Puntikura' Or "Kuntikura". It is also available in Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh (north east region of India) and also some parts of Chittagong Hill Tracts region in Bangladesh (which is mainly a tribal people region). It is a very popular green vegetable in Chakma community and it is known as "Aamelli". Gongura is a very rich source of Iron, vitamins, folic acid and anti-oxidants essential for human nutrition. Similarly, "Gongura" is popular in Tamilnadu as well, which is called "pulichakeerai" in Tamil. The famous combination with "pulichakeerai" is "Ragi Kali/Ragi Mudde", which once used to be a regular food for the people in villages (since these items are easily available in agricultural forms). In Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, it is called Ambaadi (अंबाडी). It is known as Pitwaa in Hindi, Nalitaa Saaga in Oriya, Mestapat in Bengali, Pandi in Kannada, Anthur in Mizo, "Sougri" in Manipuri, "Aamelli" in Chakma, Sorrel Leaves in English, and "Chin Baung" in Chinese. It is a summer crop, and the hotter the place, the more sour the leaf gets.
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
, Tripura
Tripura
Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...
and also Mizoram
Mizoram
Mizoram is one of the Seven Sister States in North Eastern India, sharing borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma. Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987. Its capital is Aizawl. Mizoram is located in the...
.A baby gongura leaf is a full leaf.as the leaf grows older, the leaf splits into four or more parts.
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)