It was during our stay in the rural areas of Kurnool when I developed a special interest in Velaga Pachchadi.

It is an allrounder when it comes to taste. It is sweet, spicy, sour and tangy - all at the same time.

Until I met Obavva, my then domestic help, I never had Velaga for breakfast. Obavva taught me the recipe of Vadas with alasandalu (black-eyed peas). And it is then she told me how they would taste wonderful with Velaga Pachchadi.

She was spot on. The combination was out of the world.

Velaga is a wild fruit. Not very common in urban areas but was widely available in the forests of Kurnool. Obavva, her daughter Shanti and I used to go for a morning trek into the jungle and pick Velaga fruits from there.

When we were lucky, we got our hands on Jungle Tamarind (or Manila Tamarind) and walked back happily munching it.

The very experience of picking the fruits from their natural habitat and going through every step of pickle preparation was something I cherish a lot.
And the icing on the cake was the wonderful taste of Velaga Pachchadi.