Discover the rich cuisine of Telangana at this rustic restaurant’s month-long food festival in Hyderabad

They say food is one of the best ways to discover a place, given how food traditions and customs go hand in-hand with people’s way of life and culture. Each dish and its ingredients hold keys to unlock the history of a region, often leading the way to discover lost treasures.

This week, we journeyed the expanse of Telangana on a platter, with Palle Vindu’s month-long Veera Telangana food festival serving some long-lost recipes and quintessential delicacies from the state.

From a crash course in the life-cycle of farming, stunning brass cookware to beautiful rangoli decorating the terracotta walls, Palle vindu (translating to feast from the village) is a celebration of lively village life of the Telugu states deeply rooted in agrarian traditions. The buffet, offering a whopping 40-dish menu awaited us, starting with Pindi vantalu or fried snacks of the region, featuring everything from Sarva pindi to Sakinalu — all traditional snacks typically made during festivals.

After a few sips of the fatty Mutton bokkala charu, a bone soup with a generous serving of meat, we went on to try the spicy Ankapur chicken paired with pillow-soft ragi and Jonna rotte, made from ragi and jowar — both crops native to the state. With all masalas made inhouse, the restaurant refrains from using any packaged spices, akin to homemade food.

Amid the several meatheavy dishes on the menu, the Kodi sangati — a ragi based savoury porridge with chicken curry is a must-try at the restaurant, especially for folks who have never had ragi sangati before.

We then moved onto the star dishes on the menu — the Bagara buvva, or Bagara rice, a simple and spicy preparation of short grain rice cooked in a tempering of whole spices, onions, coriander, green chillies and mint leaves, paired with the Telangana mutton curry and Dalcha. Typically served at weddings, festivals or get-togethers at home, the dishes form the core of festivities in Telangana. The eatery managed to capture the slow-cooked magic of the hearty and spicy dishes skilfully, presenting immaculate, layered flavours.

The vegetarian options were exhaustive too, featuring Pacchi pulusu, Kandi pachadi and Puntikura pachadi, all accompaniments found in local households. While the options can seem overwhelming, we recommend taking your time and tasting every dish, each vastly different from the other. esserts were a round-up of all the essential desserts, from Bakshalu to Garijelu. Malidalu, another long-forgotten recipe, is a must try. Made with leftover rotis hand-pounded with ghee and sugar to form laddoos, the dessert displays the resourceful nature of cooking in the arid state.

INR 1,700++ for two. At KPHB.