Karadantu

Karadantu is a sweet known in the towns of Amingad and Gokak in northern Karnataka. It combines jaggery with nuts, dried fruit and edible gum. With each bite, softness alternates with the crunch of the pieces.

Binding a Sweet Mixture with Nuts

The ingredients are jaggery, dried fruit, nuts and edible gum (antu). Some edible gums puff up when fried in fat and take on a different texture from the hard granules. These ingredients are mixed into the sweet mixture and pressed together, then cut into pieces or shaped into small portions.

In one example method, jaggery is boiled down in a large pot, chopped dried dates and copra are mixed in, and nuts and spices are added. The thickened mixture is spread on a large tray and cut into bars once it has cooled and set. A sweet shop in Gokak also offers a version that combines jaggery, edible gum, dried fruit, ghee and spices.

The type of edible gum and the way it is treated affect the texture of the sweet. The proportions of nuts and fruit also vary from shop to shop, so even products from the same town differ in mouthfeel and sweetness.

Two Towns, Each with Its Own Shops

One story says the sweet originated in Amingad and later came to be sold in Gokak. Another says that vendors in Gokak began making it. Both are oral traditions, and neither can establish who invented it or when. Today, sweet shops in both towns continue to make their own karadantu.

Sadanand Sweets in Gokak says that Devarmani learned how to make it from an acquaintance and began selling it at the shop in 1970. The family later supplied the sweet to other shops as well and expanded sales to nearby towns. In Amingad, Santosh, who took over the Aiholi family’s shop from his father, makes products including versions with dates and figs, and also sells them individually wrapped. As the sweet spread from town to town, each shop developed its own approach. Vijaya Karadantu in Amingad says that it has been making its sweets since 1907.

Glossary