Jantikalu

Jantikalu is the Telugu word for what the rest of India calls chakli or murukku. The shape is the same — a spiral pressed through a mould — but the Andhra version has its own character. The addition of roasted gram flour gives the dough a slightly nutty flavour and makes the finished snack lighter than pure rice flour versions.

These are made with rice flour, roasted gram flour, Guntur red chilli, sesame seeds, cumin and a little butter. The dough is shaped through a star-shaped press into spirals and deep-fried to a uniform golden crunch. Done right, they snap cleanly. Underdone jantikalu are soft in the middle; overdone ones are bitter.

The classic pairing is hot tea or filter coffee. You break off pieces and eat them between sips. Some people eat jantikalu with sambar as a dunking snack, which sounds unusual but works because the murukku absorbs just enough sambar without fully dissolving.

Made in small batches the traditional way — no preservatives, no baked version. The crunch is the point, and only frying gives that.