Rice is the staple food of the southern state of India, Andhra Pradesh. Andhra cuisine is called తెలుగు భోజనము in Telugu, the language of Andhras. Andhra is the second largest producer of rice in India, after West Bengal. Naturally, a lot of local food is rice based.

Regular meal (Bhojanamu) భోజనము
A full Andhra meal generally consists of some or all of the following:

• Cooked Rice
• Pappu, the Telugu word for cooked Redgram / Pigeonpea seeds.
• Two or three vegetable entrees/curries. Typical vegetables would include brinjal, okra, potato and greens (like spinach). Non-vegetarian curries include "Kodikoora" (Chicken), "Vetamamsam" (goat mutton), "Chepakoora" (Fish) and "Royyakoora" (Prawn). Pork is also consumed, although not widely.
• Patchadi (Pickles), e.g., Uragaaya, Aavakaaya (spicy mango pickle) and one made of a leafy vegetable called Gongura. Pickles, fresh as well as preserved, are made from all kinds of fruits and vegetables.
• Pappuchaaru (Sambaaru) - (Lentil / Redgram based vegetable soup)
• Pulusu - A vegetable broth resembling sambar, but very different in preparation and taste
• Rasamu or Chaaru - A lighter version of Sambaar without vegetables
• Majjiga pulusu - A variation of pulusu, made with buttermilk
• Pesarakattu or PappuKattu - A very simple and nutritious liquid diet containing Lentil / Redgram as base. It has a yellow color because of Turmeric and tadka is added to it.
• Pulihora - (Tamarind rice)
• Perugu (Yoghurt) or Majjiga (Buttermilk)
• Appadam (Papadums) usually eaten with pulusu or sambar. Appadam is called Poppadam in Tamil and is more commonly known as Poppadam (tamil name) in the west.
• A sweet dish or two.
• Bananas
• Tamboolam (Also called Killi, Beeda or Paan) made of fresh Betel leaves and Arecanut pieces and Lime.

(Among the above mentioned items either Pappucharu or Pulusu and either Buttermilk or Yoghurt are consumed. Tamarind rice is consumed on special occasions or during travel because it can be preserved for one to two days).

Andhra Pradesh is also a large producer of chilli peppers and the local cuisine tends to use them a lot. Hyderabad, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh is famous for its Hyderabadi biryani.

Breakfast foods

Idlis are commonly eaten as breakfast item or as a full meal along with Patchadi (Chutney) in Telugu, and/or sambar. The most common Patchadi is made from coconut.

Minapattu (Dosa) is also commonly eaten for breakfast or the evening snack. There are several varieties eaten such as the Masala Dosa, Rava Dosa, Sada Dosa, and Rava Masala Dosa. Generally, Andhra-style versions of these dosas are spicier and crispier than those of its other South Indian counterparts.

Pesarattu is also a key item in Andhra cuisine, it is more similar to Dosa but the batter is made of green mung beans, the taste is unique and fantastic. It is usually thin and crispy, with onions, green chillies, ginger pieces and coriander chopped and filled. It is accompanied by Allam Chutney mainly made of ginger. MLA Pesarattu is more popular variety of pesarattus which has Upma as filling.Uppu Pindi or Uppidi Pindi is equivalent to Upma, commonly consumed as breakfast

item or as a full meal along with Patchadi (Chutney) in Telugu. This dish is prepared with one cup Rice Ravva (split/broken rice), half cup mung dal (split green gram), three Table spoons of freshly grated coconut, fresh green chillies, curry leaves and cooked with three cups of water. Seasoning: Add to 1 Tbsp hot oil, 1 Tbsp each urad dal and mustard seeds. Add seasoning, salt to taste, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until broken rice/dal is cooked.

Evening snack (Phalahaaramu) ఫలహారము
At home, many savory snacks that make appearance during evenings they are

• Kaarappoosa
• Chekkalu
• Sakinalu
• Guggillu
• Pakodi
• Boondi
• Mixture
• Ponganalu
• Punukulu
• Upma
• Bondaalu

Another item which is a favourite of Telugu people is Mirapakaya Bajji (a local variety of chillies stuffed with spices and dipped in chick pea batter and fried). Similar items are Punukulu (balls of fermented rice and urad dahl batter), and other snacks like Ullipakodi (fritters made with sliced onion and spices in chickpea batter).

Finally, Andhra cuisine also has Gaare (Vada). Vadas are deep fried and spiced dough. They are sometimes marinated in a yogurt-like sauce and are called Perugu Vada.

Sweets

• Pootha rekuluLaddu
• Boorelu
• Bobbatlu
• Ariselu
• Pootha rekulu
• Undalu
• Polelu
• Garjelu
• Paayasamu
• Nikesh's lassi

Regional Variations
There are regional variations in Andhra cuisine. Telangana, the western region of Andhra Pradesh has some unique dishes in its cuisine. And dishes like Jonna Rotte, Sajja Rotte, Uppudi pindi are common throughout Andhra. Telanga cuisine is influenced by the islamic cuisine as Telangana has a large popoulation of muslims. In northern telangana districts cuisine has dishes similar to those found in Maharashtra like Kadi etc.