Janthikalu - Andhra Savory Snack
The queen of Andhra pindivantalu (festival foods prepared with flours) would undoubtedly be Janthikalu, a classic traditional savory snack. No auspicious occasion, picnic or a family get together is ever complete without these crunchy treats. Many a student will recall how their mothers or grandmothers lovingly packed their suitcases with a dabba of these favorite home made janthikalu among other goodies like Kissan mixed fruit jam and Bournvita. Any hostelites or ex-hostelites, remember those days? 
To savor these irresistable munchies, bribe your Andhra friends or colleagues into giving you a dabba of janthikalu or prepare them at home following this recipe. Just do it and you’ll understand why these munchies are adored by Andhras. In recent past, almost every town and city in Andhra have their friendly neighbourhood home food stores, Swagruha or Abhiruchi, selling traditional sweets and snacks like chegodi, janthikalu, murukkulu and chekalu to name a few.
A favorite recipe among many a home cook of Andhra. It was a delight watching Ammamma press concentric layers of janthikulu onto a heavy bottomed vessel of hot oil and deep fry to a vibrant golden shade with effortless ease - food art at its best. The main actors are rice flour and besan with salt, chilli powder, ajwain, sesame seeds and ghee or butter providing the supporting roles. The deep frying needs to be done on medium flame to ensure eveness in cooking, crispness and to achieve that golden shade.
Janthikalu Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 1 hr 15 mts
Cuisine: Andhra
.
2 cups rice flour
1 cup chick pea flour/besan/senaga pindi
1 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp ajwain/vaamu
1 tsp red chilli pwd
salt to taste
2 tbsps hot ghee
oil for deep frying
1 Put together rice flour, gram flour, salt, hot ghee, chilli pwd, ajwain and sesame seeds, and combine them well. Slowly add water little by little to make a soft dough, just soft enough that it is pressed through easily with the janthikalu press. Test the dough for salt and chilli pwd before deep-frying.
2 Heat a wide heavy bottomed vessel with enough oil for deep frying. Take the janthikalu gottam aka murukku press and use the disc with small holes. Fill half of the press with the dough and once the oil is hot, reduce to medium flame and using circular motion, press the jantikalu gottam to make concentric layers of the janthikalu dough. As you press the dough into the hot oil, you will find the oil froth up in bubbles which will eventually subside as the janthikalu turn to a golden shade. Remember the frying has to be done on medium flame to achieve that golden color and crispness.
3 When the janthikalu turn a golden color, turn over to the other side and let it also cook to a golden brown. Use a slotted ladle to remove onto an absorbent paper and cool. Repeat the same process till the rest of the dough is done. Cool completely before storing in an air tight metallic container.
Note:
There are many variations to prepare jantikalu. You can replace the hot ghee with a tbsp of butter OR a mashed potato. Each gives a nice flavor to the jantikalu. Another variation is to replace besan with roasted chickpea (dalia) powder OR roasted urad dal powder.
By sailu • Oct 7th, 2008 • Category: All Recipes, Andhra Recipes, Flour Recipes, Savories, Snacks & Tiffins
Looks tempting. Will try it out soon.
Sailu, very nice snack here! Thnks for the recipe! Kids will surely love it!
ex-hostelite…but i never got these!! must take that up with amma!! i love the murukku mould in brass…..i have something that looks like a gun!! the best memories of festivals somehow is about the wonderful stuff that was made days in advance….and the bustle around the house that it triggered off…..happy dasara to you and the family
Lovely….yeah i remember as kids we use to have loads of fun in summer vacation,when mom used to make some similar stuff like that..we make these with cooked rice flour,sundried and then fried as and when needed.Some Kheecha or urad dal papad,some sabudana kheecha(sago wafers sundried),potato wafers(potato chips cooked and sundried to be fried and consumed during coming monsoon days….summer vacations were so much fun then….and yeah the utensil used to make these, was experimented like hell…to make chaklis,or NOODLES of different shapes and sizes…the only difference was that the one we had has the lid which needed to be rolled in circular motion to squeeze out the flour
i sure remember those good ol hostel days!!my friends would wait anxiously for me to get back with goodies,specially jantakilu amongst other andhra delicacies…
now that i have some spare time off me and a guinea pig (hubby dear!) to taste my culinary wonders (sometimes blunders!!),i shall try this to get some brownie points..;);)
thank you for the recipe…
sailu i luv these…even i make them very often!yum!
I am just back from Guntur with a bag full of these goodies. I love them as a timepass snack also. Simply Irresistable! Thanks for the recipe.
oh i love these, thanks for the recipe.
That’s nostalgia, those presses and plates - my Ammmamma used the very same thing!
Look at those pics! Beautiful. Make me wanna get my frying pans out.
Have bookmarked this. When my sister came to visit me, one of the things she brought from India was a murukku presser, which i have not used it yet.
I would love to have few of them now.
I have made this before and you have tempted to try it again very soon!!
I remember my mom making these n packing for my hostel..right in time during the festive season..
I love to make or eat them but the prb is i dont have a murukku presser…..else i would have done it for this festival season
ooh, yum! It’s been a long time I made them. looks divine Sailu!
Wawwiiii…Wonderful recipe…For weather like this..we can have it with a cup of hot tea or coffee.Great eve time snack…Great work there Sailu
authentic and lovely!
wow this is wonderful. m feeling like eating them now …..
I made them today and they came out great. But I could not get them in the round shape. But really it tastes lovely. thank you for the recipe
[…] an irresistable addictive taste - that’s chegodi, my all time favorite munchies along with janthikalu, especially during travels. If there is a contest for the best traditional Andhra snack, the odds […]
Hi sailu
i tried this recipe chaaala bagunayi maa entilo andhariki favorite snack ayipoindhi eppudu thank u for the recipe
Your site is just perfect. The way you have dictated recipes is simply enticing. Keep up the good work !!