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Panasa Thonalu ~ Traditional Andhra Sweet for Deepavali Celebrations!

Published: Oct 29, 2008 · Modified: Oct 15, 2020 by Srivalli · 30 Comments

I had tasted these for the first time recently when hubby dear was given these by his colleague. She is from a background, where traditional cooking is still in the vogue! In fact, when he happened to drop in for lunch, he was served a curry that reminded him of his grandmother. He was telling me that I should talk to her and get insight into their cooking. I am yet to find an opportunity to do that. So when she had made these sweets, I was impressed by the shape and taste. She was supposed to show me a demo on how they make these shapes, but we couldn't make it. When I showed the sweets to Amma, she said she knows another proportion for making Kaja, but she never attempted to shape them this way.

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On the day when we were preparing the kajas, we happened to watch this panasa thonalu, over the TV. She said something very fast, only later I recalled the name of this sweet. I couldn't spend much time seeing the chef who was making these, but I had a rough idea. When I got down making these, they turned out so simple. Since I already made the dough and prepared Kaja, I wanted to try the other proportion that Amma knows. This method does not require resting time, as ghee is used instead of Dalda. And you can proceed with the process right away!

Kids are back in school today. Konda somehow didn't complain about going to school, whereas the boys cried as they are going after 3 days. I was working both days, whereas hubby dear was at home, so all the boys had a gala time, playing and napping together. As such both of them are very attached to their father. When he is carrying them both, they won't even come to me, so spending two full days with him, they have become even more. I call the boys his soul mates!

Now, coming to these famous sweets called Panasa thonalu, they are called so because they look like Jackfruit bulbs. Eating each strip one by one is fun!

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Step by Step Pictures for making Panasa Thonalu
Ingredients for Panasa Thonalu
Instructions
Recipe

Step by Step Pictures for making Panasa Thonalu

Ingredients for Panasa Thonalu

1 cup All Purpose Flour / Maida
1/4 cup and 2 tsp Ghee
1 cup Sugar
Maida, for dusting
Cooking Oil for deep frying

Instructions

In the bowl, take the maida and ghee. Rub in the ghee well, till you get the crumble. Then, slowly add water and knead a pliable dough.
Meanwhile, melt the sugar and remove scum if any. Then, cook till you get one thread consistency.
Divide the dough into small balls of size smaller than regular pooris. Dust the dough and roll out as you do your regular pooris. Roll them as thin as possible.
Using the knife, leaving an inch intact, make long insertions, vertically towards the end. Continue to do so till the end as shown in the picture.
Gently remove from the board, gathering the uncut disc. Shake the disc a bit and the strips will fall as long strips.
Gently drop them into hot oil and cook in sim on both sides. The trick to get all of them as separate is to make them as you fry them. When you prepare these shapes and allow them to rest, they will lose shape!
When it's cooked on all sides, drop these into the sugar syrup. Let it soak for 5 mins, then remove.
Once they are cooled, store them in an airtight container.

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