I love chatting up my ammamma (maternal grandmother) on the phone. You know why? Because she tells the best stories. Stories about her childhood, about her hometown in Telangana (state in southern India), and her favorite dishes.
She made the long journey from India to US and is currently staying with my family. I'm so happy because I can go visit her whenever I want to and listen to more of her stories. She always has something new to tell me.
My favorite part of the conversations are always about food. She knows how much I enjoy cooking and trying new dishes and snacks. A popular Telangana snack is sakinalu.
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| Sakinalu served with onion relish |
Sakinalu is circular in shape (as shown above) and is crispy and crunchy. It is made with rice flour, some spices, sesame seeds, carom seeds, salt and is fried in oil.
My ammamma used to get this snack especially made for us whenever we visited her in India. Her relatives made kilos of this snack, packaged it in gallon sized ziplock bags and distributed to all the family. It's best when eaten within a month's time otherwise it will go stale.
Sakinalu can be enjoyed on its own or with onion relish or chutney (shown below).
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The main ingredient or highlight of this relish is the onion, hence the name. It's best to use sweet onions but if those are not available, you can also make with regular onions as well. Check out the recipe for the relish below:
Ingredients
1 large (about 4" wide) white or sweet onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp chili powder (adjust to taste)
1/4 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1-1/2 Tbsp dry coconut powder, grated
Procedure
Heat oil in a medium saucepan on low and add chili powder. Stir for 15 seconds and then add onions, brown sugar and salt. Continue to cook on low heat stirring frequently for 10 to 15 minutes or until the onion is well cooked and water is evaporated and the chutney comes together without sticking to the pan. Next add the coconut powder and mix well. Cook for an additional minute and remove from the stove.
The spicy and sweet flavors in this relish pair well with the Sakinalu. Sometimes, I wonder...which do I love more? Sakinalu or the relish...especially since I put a teaspoon of the relish on each of the piece of the snack. At this rate, I usually run out...but I can always make more because now I have recipe.
Whenever I eat this snack, I think of my ammamma and all of her stories...looking forward to seeing her again soon...
How do you enjoy sakinalu? What chutney do you eat it with? Drop us a comment.