This gongura mutton dish is also an immunity booster

AN actor by profession, Bhanuprakash is also passionate about cooking. He has acted in movies and has done numerous serials; the current one is Kaatrukenna Velli on Vijay TV. He is also acting in a web series called Adigaram directed by SPB Charan. Growing up in a oneroom house that was dotted with similar rooms was tough. He never imagined he would reach the heights of success and owes it all to his working mother. She used to act in dramas and movies to ensure that her son got the best education.

Though they had very simple food at home, whenever Bhanuprakash visited his ammooma (grandmother) in a village called Ananthavaram near Vijayawada, he got to eat all the Andhra delicacies. Being an Andhrite, his fondness for the Guntur chili, gongura and avakai are natural. His grandparents were into farming and hence his playground was the bountiful trees and plants. He tells me that there was a cattle shed adjoining the house — hence they used to have plenty of homemade yogurt, butter and ghee. Gobar gas and woodfire were the medium of cooking. Gutti vankaya kura curry, gongura mutton, mudda pappu, ulava charu, pesara punukulu, royyala yeppadu

(prawns fry), gongura pachadi and boorelu are some of the dishes he recollects enjoying.

Bhanuprakash’s education led him to an engineering college and then to a college for acting. Living in Kodambakkam it was normal to have a boys gang — Bhanuprakash and his friends used to sit on the bench munching groundnuts. Once, as he was passing by some apartment, he heard the sound of bangles and looked up to see who was trying to get his attention. It was a pretty Iyengar girl. Her name was Sunanda, and she became his wife. Today, she cooks some of the best Andhra food for her family. Her winning recipe is thengai paal

sadam. Bhanuprakash feels that cooking relaxes him and on certain days when nostalgia hits him, he rustles up a gongura mutton or mudda pappu.

Gongura mutton curry is a spicy curry with the distinctive taste of gongura or sorrel leaves. Gongura is known by many names across the country — in Marathi, it is called ambadi, in Tamil, it is called pulicha keerai and in Assamese, it is called tenga mora. Gongura or sorrel leaves have rich iron content and have a tangy flavour. Gongura is also a great immunity booster. Vegetarians can replace mutton with soya or paneer. Today, Bhanuprakash shares the recipe of gongura mutton curry. — Chef Ramaa Shanker is the author of Festive 4ƉJWNSLX YT YMJ ,TIX )N[NSJ 8TZQ 7JHNUJX