K. Vani was the winner of the Khammam round of The Hindu’s ‘Our State Our Taste’ competition held on June 9. She captivated the judges with her Kalabanda Pachadi, a signature dish of Telangana cuisine. She will take part in the grand finale in Hyderabad on July 13.
The culinary contest, hosted at Sri Sri Sri Hotel in Khammam, attracted a large number of enthusiastic crowd of home chefs and budding culinary talents. Participants showcased a diverse array of dishes, highlighting the authentic flavours of Telangana using Aashirvaad Masala Karam. The competition aims to uncover the top culinary champions of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
N. Naga Rani was named the first runner-up, and E. Monika secured the position of second runner-up. Celebrity chefs ETV Raju, Chinnam Raju, and Chef Ravikanth judged the entries based on taste, texture, flavour, and presentation.
Contestants were encouraged to either prepare their best traditional dish or put a modern twist to a classic recipe. The high level of culinary skill and creativity made judging a challenging task. The grand finale will award cash prizes of ₹75,000 for first place, ₹50,000 for second place, and ₹25,000 for third place.
The prizes were distributed by Ramana Reddy, Regional Manager of Advertisement Sales at The Hindu Telangana; KM Prudvi, Aashirvaad Spices Brand Executive; Bollam Madhu, Aashirvaad Spices Distributor; U Karunakar, Sales Officer for Parry Dal; RKG Ghee Senior Sales Officer Mr. Srikanth; Somasundaram, Sales Officer for Bambino Pasta/Vermicelli; G. Murali Mohan, Store Manager of CMR Shopping Mall; Sivakumar Chari, Manager at GRT Jewellery; Venue Partner Mr. Hari Babu, Advocate and Auditor, Chairman of Sri Sri Sri Group of Hotels; and E. Ranganath, Managing Director of Sri Sri Sri Group of Hotels. The knowledge partners included Chef ETV Raju, Chef Chinnam Raju, and Hari Chef.
The “Our State Our Taste” cookery competition is presented by Aashirvaad Masala Karam and powered by Parry’s Dal/Pulses, in association with RKG Ghee and Bambino. CMR Shopping Mall is the textiles partner, GRT Jewellers is the jewellery partner, Sri Sri Sri Hotel is the venue and hospitality partner, and Raju’s Food Art is the knowledge partner.
