The Telugu States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have a rich variety of desserts which are specially prepared and savoured during festivals like Sankranti, Dasara, Diwali and other celebratory occasions. These staple dishes are simply irresistible and are permanent fixtures in the menu during Telugu weddings and festivals. However, they are not so well-known outside the two states. The Organiser tries to make people familiar with the rich varieties of sweets of these two important States.
Bobbatlu
Bobbatlu has different names like Bakshalu and Oligalu in different parts of the states. It is mostly prepared during Diwali, Sankranti and Ugadi, which is the Telugu New Year. It is usually prepared with flour, ghee, split chickpeas and jaggery. But the dish is open to experimentation, and is also made with alternative stuffings like coconut and even khoya or palkova. Preparing Bobbatlu is a time-consuming process, but this effort is worth all the pain when the soft and smooth Bobbatlu melts in your mouth. The dish is a filling snack that quickly satiates hunger pangs.
Ariselu
Ariselu is mainly prepared during Sankranti and Diwali from the first harvest of rice. It is made from soaked rice, jaggery, ghee and oil. “Ariselu is a travel food; rich in protein. It has a long shelf life. Variants of Ariselu are found in several states like Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala,” Sankalp says. The preparation requires a lot of time, care and experience. In Tamil, it is known as Adhirasam; Kajjaaya in Kannada and Anarsa in Marathi. To prepare Ariselu, the rice has to be soaked overnight and ground until it turns into fine powder. Jaggery should be made into a syrup by boiling it with water. The syrup should be mixed with cardamom powder and ghee. Later, the ground rice should be added little by little into the syrup and mixed like a chapati dough.
Palathalikalu
Palathaliku is similar to payasam, made from rice flour kneaded into balls and then made into slender threads of noodles. If you are tired of having payasam for every occasion, try Palathalikilu from Andhra Pradesh, which can be described as creamy payasam.
Sunnundalu
Sunnundalu are laddus made from skinned split black gram or urad dal, and ghee and jaggery. In Telugu weddings, this sweet is prepared for the newly married groom by the mother-in-law as a custom. It’s one of the easier sweets to make on this list with a simple process. Once the urad dal is ground into flour, the second and final task of rolling the laddus can even be delegated to restless kids wreaking havoc around the house. Telangana has a different version of Sunnundalu with Ragi. They both have the similar recipe though, Sankalp shares.
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