Sankranti Sweets and Snacks: The Complete Andhra List

Sankranti is the biggest festival in coastal Andhra and the only one where the food is almost entirely fixed by tradition. Every household makes broadly the same things, which is exactly why quality is noticed.

Ariselu is the centrepiece. Rice flour and jaggery, deep fried until the outside crisps and the inside stays chewy. It is deceptively hard to make well; too much moisture and it drinks oil, too little and it cracks.

Sunnundalu are urad dal laddus, roasted and ground with jaggery or sugar and bound with ghee. The bellam version with dry fruit has become the more popular gift in recent years.

Bobbatlu, the sweet stuffed flatbread with chana dal and jaggery, is served warm with a spoon of ghee. It is the one item genuinely worth making or buying on the day rather than in advance.

On the savoury side, Chekkalu, Janthikalu and Karam Boondi carry the three days of the festival. They keep for weeks in an airtight tin, which is why they are made in enormous quantities.

Ordering advice: Ariselu and Sunnundalu can be ordered a week ahead. Bobbatlu should arrive within two or three days of when you plan to eat it. Savouries can be ordered whenever you like.

Sankranti demand is heavier than Diwali in the Godavari districts, and delivery networks slow down over the festival itself. Ordering ten days out is not excessive.