The Fiery Pot of Rice

Fiery flavours are the trademark of Pulaos from Telugu speaking States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. And by recreating the authenticity of the much-loved rice dish, the fine dining restaurant United Kitchen of India has spiced up the menu, quite literally.

Chef Rizwan and team went to places like Rajahmundry, Bhimavaram and Guntur, did tasting, learnt recipes and have brought back pulaos like Ajanta, Bhimavaram, Konaseema, Palnadu, each outdoing the other in the use of chillies.

The preparation of Bhimavaram Royyala Pulao made using shrimps and long rice includes mixing rice with red chilli powder; and the Konaseema Mamsam Pulao on the other hand, despite coming from the same coastal belt is a tad less spicy from the use of coconut paste.

Palnadu Mutton Pulao, the native of Guntur, AP is made using green chillies. The Yeta Mamsam Pulao is inspired by the home-cooked dish from the Telangana homes. It’s the same rice, meat and spices – yet the proportions and the method of using Chillies and other spices affects not just the spice level, but taste too. The pulaos are the perfect recipes to get high on spice (read chilli hot).

There is one restaurant in Rajahmundry, Ajanta that has over the years wooed the pulao lovers with its unique preparation using chicken drum sticks – now the UKI team has brought down the chef, learnt the tricks and have included the Ajanta Kodi Pulao in the menu.

The Chef Special Pulao using the chicken in butter and tomato gravy is prescribed for the less adventurous. It is a takeoff from the chicken butter masala and evidently a lot tamer than the others. The vegetarians can try the Kothimeera Pulao, Vegetarian and Paneer Pulao.