Just say “punugulu ” under your breath and chances are the people on LIC Road will point you to Sri Jai Durga Bhavani stall that is right opposite the LIC building. Actually there are two stalls.
“One serves the customers and the other one is for parcels. That is the only way we can prevent a traffic jam... such is the demand for punugulus ,” grins owner P Ratnakumari. Popularly referred to as ‘LIC punugulus’, it is safe to say punugulus are to Visakhapatnam, what vada pav is to Mumbai.
The stall serves piping hot punugulus wrapped in banana leaves with coconut chutney, diced onion and garlic chutney. Made of rice flour mixed with black gram, the pakora-like punugulus are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The crimson red ginger chutney adds a spicy kick. . Such is the demand that one can spot the fanciest of cars pulling up to pick up the favourite snack. At ₹25 a plate, the punugulus are also a filling meal for those on a budget.
The originally-Telugu snack, punugulu is made from rice flour and black gram
Ratnakumari and her husband sold jalebis for many years in Vijayawada before they moved here in 1992 . “We wanted to try something new and decided on punugulus . Initially the business was slow, but our stall at the Vsakha Utsav in 1994 changed everything and our punugulus shot to fame. People continued to seek us out after the Utsav and and since then the business has been smooth,” she says. They added a third stall in 2006 which also serves tiffins and meals, and of course, the along with punugulus .
Today, with 15 employees working under her command, Ratnakumari overlsees the operations in all three stalls. Sometimes she takes over the kadai in which the punugulus are fried and it is fascinating to watch her swiftly and with precision drop balls of batter into the hot oil. “The consistency of the batter and the temperature of the oil play a very important role in making crispy punugulus,” she says.
P Ratnakumari(58) interacting with people, at her 26-year-old stall, Sri Jai Durga Bhavani, near LIC Building in Visakhapatnam
“Back then we sold one plate for ₹ 3. But those days were different, the city was not a sprawling metropolis. This junction did not have so much traffic, it was just a single road. This area used to wear a deserted look after dusk as there were no street lights then. We sold our punugulus under the light of a kerosene lamp,” she recalls.
While both the stalls are open from 5.30 pm to 10.30 pm, the work at Sri Jai Durga Bhavani begins at 10 am. The rice and black gram are ground to make the batter. The chutneys are ground fresh every day.
The snack that belongs to the Telugu lands is famous among the city’s Bengali and Marwari community. “There are several families who have been our regular customers for decades,” she says. The sales shoot up especially during the monsoons. “There have been days when we are sold out before 8 pm on rainy days,” laughs Rantakumari. But she is not complaining.
(Living Vizag is a weekly column that profiles people who make the city special, and explore it through their eyes)
