I'll refer to my copy of Bhagavatam at home and look up the list of plants.
For some reason, I'm endlessly fascinated by this topic of Telugu food
through the ages, but never had the time or knowledge to pursue it. Now's
my opportunity to tap your more knowledgeable brain!
Today's L.A. Times Food section carried a full feature about South Indian
vegetarian food. It deals mostly with the standard uDipi fare, along with
some Tamilian and Kerala dishes, but nothing unique to the Telugu country,
like gongura, kanda-baccchali, araTi-dooTa, korivi-kaaram etc. (And those
are only coastal dishes, I'm sure Rayalaseema and Telangana have their own
rich variety of foods.)
I think the study of foods, like the study of language or dress, will tell us
something about the historical development of regions, contacts between
cultures, etc. Is there a name for such a field of study?
Bapa Rao