Gongura

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At a Market in Guntur

Sold on a street in Guntur

Drying Gongura for Pickle

Gongura (Hibiscus cannabinus) (Telugu: 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 and anti-oxidants essential for human nutrition.

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 also known as Andhra Maatha (Mother of Andhra Food). Gongura is popular in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Well known recipes made with Gongura as the main ingradient are Gongura Pappu (Lentils), Gongura Pacchadi, Gongura Pickle, Gongura mamsam (goat/mutton) and Gongura royyalu (shrimp). Some people relish Gongura with chicken too.

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

Pulla Gongura (Gongura + Wet Red Chillies)
Gongura Pachchadi (This comes in two varieties made with Green chillies and Red Chillies)
Pulihara Gongura (Made with 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.