What to Eat in Lepakshi Today?

Rayalaseema cooking

Rayalaseema is the dry southwestern corner of Andhra Pradesh, and its food grew up around crops that survive little rain. Finger millet (ragi), groundnuts, tamarind and red chilli turn up in almost everything. The flavours are bold: sour, hot and salty rather than rich or creamy.

The dishes to try

Andhra meals is the main event at lunch: rice on a banana leaf or steel plate, with dal, a vegetable curry, sambar, rasam, curd and spicy pickles. The pickles often include avakaya, a fierce mango pickle, and gongura, made from sour sorrel leaves. Mix a little of each with rice and ghee, and ask for a refill of whatever you like.

Ragi sangati is the everyday food of the region. It is a firm ball of cooked finger millet and rice. You pinch off a piece, dip it in curry and swallow it without much chewing. At home it is often eaten with natu kodi, a spicy country-chicken curry, but vegetable and dal versions are common too.

Pulihora is tamarind rice tempered with peanuts, mustard, curry leaves and chilli. It is a classic temple offering in Andhra and keeps well, so it is also the traditional travel food.

Mirchi bajji is a long green chilli, stuffed, dipped in gram-flour batter and fried. It comes with chopped onion and makes a hot evening snack with tea.

Bobbatlu is a thin flatbread filled with sweet chana dal and jaggery, cooked on a griddle with ghee. It is the sweet of Ugadi and weddings, and a good way to cool your mouth after a meal.

Eating on a temple visit

Lepakshi has only a few places to eat, all small and close to the temple. Have breakfast before you go in, and plan lunch after the temple and the Nandi. For more choice, Hindupur is about 15 km away. Where to eat lists the places, and you can see all the dishes on this page.