Puntikura/Gongura is the form of the roselle plant (''Hibiscus sabdariffa'') grown for its edible leaves in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and in other countries like

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. These leaves are used in south-central

Indian cuisine Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, he ...

to impart a tart flavour. Gongura comes in two varieties, green stemmed leaf and red stemmed. The red stemmed variety is more sour than the green stemmed variety. Gongura is a rich source of iron, vitamins, folic acid and anti-oxidants essential for human nutrition.Indian Home Cooking, S. Saran and S. Lyness, 2004 ''Gongura'pacchadi'', a form of chutney or relish, is a quintessential part of

Andhra Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

cuisine. Telugu people, mainly from

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, locally call it ' (mother Andhra) in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

due to its significance in their daily diet. While it has many culinary uses, the most popular version is the pickled form. Although Gongura is widely consumed in homes all over

, Gongura is more popular in hotels, restaurants, eateries and food joints. It is also grown in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh (north east region of India) and some parts of Chittagong Hill Tracts region in Bangladesh (which is mainly a tribal people region). It is a popular green vegetable in Chakma community and it is known as "Aamelli". Similarly, ''Gongura'' is popular in Tamil Nadu as well, and is called '' ()'' in Tamil. In Odisha it's known as (') or ('). In Kerala it is called ('), (') or ('). It is popular in North and Central

cuisines as " ()", and is regularly eaten with Jollad (Jowar) rotti. The famous combination with ' is '/', which once used to be a regular food for the people in villages (since these items are easily available in agricultural forms). In

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

, it is called ' (). And is specially prepared to a stew and served to goddess

Mahalakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with '' Maya'' ("Illusion"). Al ...

/ Gauri during the annual festival of Mahalakshmi which falls on three days in between the ten days

Ganesha Chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (), or Ganeshotsav () is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and p ...

festival in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. It is known as '' '' in Hindi, ''Kotrum'' in Jharkhand, in Bengali, ''Amaari'' in Chhattisgarhi, ''Pandi''/''Pundi SOPPU '' in Kannada, ''Anthur'' in Mizo, ''Sougri'' in Manipuri, ' in Punjabi, ''Aamelli'' in Chakma, ''Mwitha'' in Bodo,'' Kenaf Leaves'' in English, and ''Chin Baung'' in Chinese. It is a summer crop, and the hotter the place, the more sour the leaf gets. Guntur Gongura

Gongura is popular in the state of

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

and also

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

. A baby gongura leaf is a full leaf. As the leaf grows older, the leaf splits into four or more parts. GntGongura2

Other well known recipes made with Gongura as the main ingredient are ''Gongura pappu'' (lentils), ''Gongura mamsam'' (goat/mutton) and ''Gongura royyalu'' (shrimp). In recent times, Gongura Chicken is also being served in restaurants. Gongura and calabash is extremely popular with the Telugu community in South Africa. It is also eaten by Acholi and Lango people in northern Uganda, where it is known as ''malakwang''. In the Bodo Community of Assam too, 'Gongura' called as 'Mwitha' is taken very frequently, it is prepared as curry with pork, 'Mwitha-Oma', with pond fish as 'Mwitha-na' with prawns as 'Mwitha-nathur'. The leaves having sour tastes and slippery texture blends easy and makes a wonderful dish with non-veg items. The Bodo community believes that intake of sour helps in fighting the scorching summer heat and prevents illness. Some more popular curries and pickles made with gongura are as follows: * ''Pulla Gongura'' (Gongura + Red Chillies) * ''Pulihara'' Gongura (Gongura and Tamarind) * ''Gongura Pappu'' (Gongura + Lentils) * ''Gongura Pulusu'' (Gongura stew) * ''Gongura Chicken'' (Gongura + Chicken)

References

{{reflist * Mahadevan N, Shivali, Pradeed kamboj, Hibiscus sabdariffa linn - An overview, Natural radiance, 2009;8(1):77-83. * Sekhar, DMR, Sun Roselle, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253240996_Sun_Roselle?ev=prf_pub * https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Gongura_Leaves_11189.php

External links

Gongura Pickle Recipe and Video

Andhra cuisine Leaf vegetables Hibiscus