Sarva pindi: The delicious pancake-shaped snack from Telangana

As the day comes to a close, the floating crowd gradually increases at the small nameless snack shop located on the main road near Gopalnagar in Telangana’s Sircilla. The hungry crowd is drawn by the aroma of the delicious sarva pindi, a local deep-fried snack. The pancake-shaped snack is made using rice flour, lentils, cumin, ginger, carrots, coriander and curry leaves along with seasonal greens.

Mirch bajjilu, pakodi, appalu, sakinalu and gudalu are a few of the many snack varieties in Telangana. Sarva pindi is another lesser-known but tasty snack, which is popular in the erstwhile Karimnagar district, Warangal district and some other parts of the state. Also called sarva pindi rotte or ginne appa, sarva pindi is prepared by mixing rice flour and other ingredients using water to make the dough before deep-frying it. The snack can be easily made at home if one can prepare the dough in advance.

The Sircilla snack shop has been run by P Mallesham and his family for the past 8 years, before which they operated it for 10 years in the temple town of Vemulawada. The small snack shop is the sole source of livelihood for Mallesham’s family. His sons, Krishna and Vishnu who have both done food crafting courses, also help in the business.

While Mallesham gets busy making bajjis and pakodi, Krishna and Vishnu start the prep for the lip-smacking sarva pindi. On a brief visit to the shop, this reporter got a peek into how this popular north Telangana snack is made.

Kneading the flour with the veggies and spices to make the perfect dough, Krishna says that their shop is a go-to spot for local residents as well as for commuters passing through the town.

Krishna divides the dough into small balls and then shapes each ball into a circular form using his hand. “We cook it in boiling oil for 5-6 minutes. Before dunking it in the oil, we make some holes so that the sarva pindi gets fried evenly,” he explains.

The sarva pindi is flipped till both sides are cooked to a nice brown colour. In minutes, the delicious snack is ready to eat or for takeaway. Krishna says, “School and college students and many others stop by for a quick snack. Though we make pakodi, bajji and pav bhaji, it is our sarva pindi that is most popular.”

Rich in taste, the snack is also affordable. Served with tamarind, chilli and peanut chutneys for just Rs 25 a piece, sarva pindi is a must-try at Mallesham’s snack shop.Mallesham says they had difficulty in running the shop during the peak of COVID-19 and the lockdown, but he’s happy that business is picking up now.

The family makes roughly Rs 2,500-3,000 per day if all the material they prepared for the day gets used.

Interestingly, for people in the countryside sarva pindi works as an excellent combination with palm toddy.