Panasa Thonalu

Panasa thonalu is a traditional Andhra sweet dish that can be put together very quickly. Panasa thonalu literally means the jackfruit bulbs / pods in Telugu. Why is a sweet dish named so then? It is probably because of their shape. Compared to the other Andhra 'pindivantalu' - the  traditional festive dishes, this one is not a very well known dish but really a mouthwatering kind. I should however assert that the entire process is really a breeze and so a suitable one to prepare in a short notice. 

If a couple of tiny extra steps involved is not counted then panasa thonalu preparation is similar to poori making, if I could put it that way. The dough is shaped, deep fried and dunked in sugar syrup for a few minutes so that the crisp thonalu is left with a thin coating of sugar resulting in a yummy delicacy. A good and easy one even for a novice.

Ingredients: (Yield - 12)
1 cup all purpose flour / maida
2 tbsp. ghee (2 tbsp. more can be used if preferred.)
A pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom 
Oil to fry

Directions:
* Combine melted ghee, salt and flour in a mixing bowl. Add water in increments and prepare a firm dough (like that of chapathi dough consistency).
* Add sugar and 1/2 cup of water to a pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and keep cooking until one thread consistency syrup (theega pakam) is formed. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Remove the syrup from heat.
* Divide the prepared dough into twelve equal portions and shape them into balls. 
* Take one ball and roll it into a thin disc of about 4 -5 inches diameter (like a poori). Using a knife, make vertical slits along the disc about 1 cm apart, taking care to leave the edges untouched.  

* Though I have shown 4 slits in the above image, you can go with more. Now gently roll the disc. 

* Pinch / twist at the edges of the roll.

* This is how a panasathona looks when spread. Repeat the steps with the remaining dough balls.

* Meanwhile heat oil in a frying pan. When it is hot enough to fry, lower the heat and gently slide in a few prepared panasathonalu. Panasathonalu can be fried in batches, 4 to 6 at a time depending upon the size of the frying pan being used.

* Fry the pieces until golden brown and crisp, flipping in between. Remove with a slotted spoon and drop into the sugar syrup prepared earlier. Remove them from the syrup after 3 - 4 minutes and place it on a tray / plate. When they dry, store them in an airtight container. 

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