There is a lot of love for Telugu cuisine, as well as certain misconceptions. The most common is ‘Telugu food is red and fiery hot.’ Hence, United Telugu Kitchen (UTK) is on a mission. They are setting out to clear this myth. How does one do this, being in Hyderabad? Wouldn’t they need to step out to change the perception of Telugu food, outside Telangana or Andhra ? Teja Cherukuri, Director of United Telugu Kitchen, says, “We started in Vijayawada, then came to Hyderabad. After that we are headed towards Bengaluru. The response in Bengaluru was overwhelming. Our next stops are Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The commercial potential of Telugu cuisine is unexplored. The cuisine has a lot to show in vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections.”
natu bombs | Photo Credit: special arrangement
The mascot of UTK is legendary Telugu actor Suryakantham. Why? “She has portrayed many iconic roles in the kitchen and talks about food and aroma in her roles,” adds Teja. One of the scenes from a film of the late actor, where she twirls a ladle in her left handle and says, when she does tadka (tempering), the whole street will get the whiff of it, is legendary. Theji Pinnamaneni, Director at UTK adds, “Her character in movies are mostly cooking and revolved around the kitchen..
At UTK, every dish tells a story of tradition, sometimes. with a tweak. The menu features a selection of recipes from Telugu households. From iconic Nellore cheppa pulusu to innovative interpretations in bagara annam pacchi pulusu with mamsam vepudu (mutton fry). Then there is bellam cheppa pulusu and natukodi roast.
Avakai Korameenu at United Telugu Kitchen | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The restaurant interiors have a lot of artefacts to give the feel of a traditional restaurant. The bestseller in starters is the grilled murrel fish. If one orders this, one gets an uncut marinated murrel fish grilled over a coal fire. While I saw many tables ordering fish, I ordered Bezawada fried wings, mokkajonna ulli karam and keema cutlets.
The keema cutlets stood out for me. They were meaty; the slight heat from the spices enhanced the flavour. Bezawada fried wings are done in Indian style. For vegetarian snacks, the mokkajonna ulli karam is ideal. One will also find palleturi mushroom (rustic mushroom preparation) and Madanapalli paneer (Telugu-style pepper paneer fry) on the menu.
None of the dishes I tried, made me reach for a glass of water. The heat from the spices (chilli, pepper, masalas are not overbearing).
You can sip on a goli soda if you want something fizzy with your food or after.
UTK’s rice selection varies from pulaos, bagaras, biryanis apart from steamed rice. Most sides in the main course come with a rice suggestion. The menu suggests mamsam pulusu to be had with ghee rice, and mutton dalcha with bagara rice (a Telugu style of masala rice).
While I wanted to try the rani gari kodi pulao because of the name, Theji suggested I sample some of their ‘local favourites.’ The list of local favourites is long. It has mudappau pachi pulusu, muddapappu avakai annam, ghee sambar rice, guddu pappu charu, mamsam pappucharu, gutti vankaya kura, ragi sangati and a lot more.
Since all the ‘local favourites’ were brought to the table (for a table of five), I had a spoonful of each. The combination that stood out was bagara rice, pacchi pulusu with chicken fry. Also nice was the mushy muddapappu annam with pacchi pulusu.
At Theji’s insistence I also ended up tasting ulavacharu chicken biryani. A first for me and I would say even though it is a best-selling dish, I still prefer a non-vegetarian pulav or a simple dum biryani because I do not prefer gravy masalas in my biryani.
Which is why Teja suggested the mamsam roast pulao with chinta chiguru (tender tamarind leaves).
By the way there is chepa fry biryani as well.
I also tried the bellam chepa pulusu. This is a sweet and tangy version of Nellore chepa pulusu, an interesting variation. .
Telugodi Kebab | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In desserts came paan kulfi, UTK malai sandwich and kevu keka (hot gulab jamun with rabdi).
United Telugu Kitchen is in Vijayawada, Hyderabad (2 locations), Bengaluru. Table for two ₹1,500 upwards for three course.
