What to Eat In Vijayawada

Manjulika Pramod spent a year living in Vijayawada. In that time, she grew to love the city’s diverse culinary offerings, found in the smallest of corners and in the biggest restaurants. Here, she shares a list of definite dishes to try in the city, padded with recommendations from other foodies.

Vijayawada (formerly Bezawada), the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, is sprawled around the banks of river Krishna, and caressed by the Indrakeeladri Hills. visited this bustling city for two weeks (at first), and eventually we ended up living here for a year.

In that time, Vijayawada won me over with the splendour of its religious, archaeological and historical marvels. But the thing I miss the most about Vijayawada is the food. From her street vendors to popular eateries and legendary tiffin spots, Vijayawada is a food-crazy city by every definition. Once I sampled the ghee-bathed idlis, mysore bhajjis, punugulus, biryanis, ulavacharu, and Andhra thalis, there was no looking back. Those flavours have become my bouquet of lasting memories from the city.

The traditional cuisine of Andhra Pradesh is a melting pot of influences, cultures and local agricultural produce, and it is most evident in Vijayawada. The neighbouring town, Guntur, is known as the chilli capital of India, so a fiery dominance in the cuisine is to be expected.

Here is my guide — supplemented with recommendations from some of city’s foremost food content creators — to eating in Vijayawada.

Idli

Although it is a popular breakfast item in many South Indian states, this fluffy, savoury and traditional dish made of steamed rice (or semolina) batter enjoys a different kind of adulation in Vijayawada. Two places that are high on the charts are SSS Idly and Babai Hotel. SSS has a history of over 40 years, and since inception, they have just a single dish on their menu. I like their rectangular idlis, especially when served with a combination of ghee, chutney and gunpowder. The special idli at Babai hotel, called Babai idli, comes with a legacy of 80 years and is drenched in ghee, served with white butter.

Tips: Mrs. Leena Gurnani @Pandarviewz recommends Urvasi Tiffins Corner for its soft idlis served with sambar.

Mysuru Bajji and Punugulus

These two fried snacks reign undisputed on the Vijayawada snacking scene. Punugulu or bullet bajji are smaller in size in comparison to the Mysuru bajji and feature rice flour as the star ingredient. Mysore Bajji is prepared with yogurt, and maida, and derives its flavour from cumin seeds, green chillies, curry leaves, and ginger. It is best paired with a combination of fresh coconut, peanut, ginger and tomato chutneys. Sri Sathya Sai Tiffin is my treasured weekend spot for these treats — the 30-year old space makes Andhra-style tiffins using coconuts from coastal Andhra, and jaggery instead of sugar in their sambar.

Tips: Lovina and Suraj of Vijayawadafoodies recommend Ravi Punugulu for punugulus.

Attu (Dosa)

Attu, also called dosa in Telugu, is another South Indian staple. I’ve eaten the best dosas in Vijayawada from local stalls at the night food market near the IGMC Stadium on MG Road. Before the pandemic, close to 50 makeshift stalls would take over the street, serving falooda, ice cream, fruit shakes, Mysuru bajji, idlis and dosas. More recently, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation built a food court called Eat Street, which has dosa stalls by the dozen. My favourite dosa remains the special ghee roast dosa served at Sweet Magic restaurant. I love its crunch, the generous use of ghee and the accompanying coconut chutney.

Tips: Tejaswini Mahankali from the.foodlog recommends Anji’s Idly shop for their unique Lays chips’ dosa and ice-cream dosa.

Biryani

Vijayawada’s love for biryani rivals that of its neighbour, the country’s biryani capital, Hyderabad. The moderate pricing and generous portions make it a delicious staple. The spicy Andhra-style dum biryani is prepared with long grained rice, tender meat, aromatic spices and chillies. The chicken biryani (for meat-eaters) and cut mirchi biryani (for vegetarians) at the Aromas gourmet dining at DV Manor hotel are my favourites. The latter is a signature dish — mirchi bajji (filled with paneer) mixed with biryani rice. I recommend egg biryani, my comfort food, from Paradise Biryani because the combination of rice, eggs and the Andhra spices is simply unforgettable.

Tips: Vijayawadafoodies recommends Sweet Magic for UlavaCharu Biryani and Jaya Durga or Hotel Ilapuram for Andhra style biryani.

Meals

Meals are just the other names for a set thali comprising of 8-10 items, which usually includes (unlimited) rice, pappu (dal), sambhar, chutneys, rasam, curd, stir-fried vegetables and meat curries with podi, papdam and sweets.

Sri Sai Mess and Sri Ramaiah Mess have been serving vegetarian meals for 21 years, and 42 years respectively. Sai Mess offers a wholesome Andhra meal, with pappu, a vegetable gravy, two fried veggies, sambhar, rasam, curd, sweet, papadam and rice. Ramaiyya Mess offers three different options: a basic thali, and two higher priced ones with more vegetables, sweets and drinks.

For the non-vegetarians, there are separate bowls of fiery chicken dishes, fish curries or mutton curries served in addition to all the vegetables. Gongura chicken, a popular Andhra dish, made with rich spices and the titular gongura leaves is cooked with rice. Look out for it in the non-veg platter.

Tips: Leena Gurnani says Panchavati Hotel is one of the oldest establishments in the town area serving authentic Andhra-style meals.

Pickles

The locals are unapologetic about their love for pickles. Most of the old sweet shops take great pride in their homemade pickles. The mango-based pickles like avakaya and maagaya, gongura-a pickle created by red sorrel leaves, usirikaya made with gooseberry or amla, nimmakaya which is made with lime, are extremely popular. The locals love to eat boiled rice with pickles. Initially, I was apprehensive of this combination but gradually I developed a liking for it. I would often buy the mango and gongura pickles from local brands, Swagruha Foods and Sweet Magic.

Manjulika Pramod loves to travel around the world and tell compelling stories to make people pack their bags. She is also a compulsive foodie, an author, an upcycling artist and a telecom engineer.

ALSO ON GOYA

Featured