Pootharekulu (plural) or poothareku (singular) is a popular
Indian sweet
This is a list of Indian sweets and desserts, also called ''mithai'', a significant element in Indian cuisine. Indians are known for their unique taste and experimental behavior when it comes to food. Many Indian desserts are fried foods made wi ...
from the
Andhra Pradesh state of south-east
India.
The sweet is wrapped in a wafer-thin rice starch layer resembling paper and is stuffed with sugar, dry fruits and nuts. The sweet is popular for festivals, religious occasions and weddings in the
Telugu states.
The name of the sweet literally means 'coated sheet' in the
Telugu language—''pootha'' means 'coating' and ''reku'' (plural ''rekulu'') means 'sheet' in
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
. The making of pootharekulu is a cottage industry in Atreyapuram, where around 400 families are dependent on the making and marketing of the sweet. As of October 2018, the state of Andhra Pradesh was said to be in the process of applying for
Geographic Indication (GI) tag for the sweet.
History
Pootharekulu were created in
Atreyapuram, a village and mandal headquarters in the
East Godavari district of
Andhra Pradesh.
The sweet has a history of a few centuries (three centuries by some accounts).
It is said that a village woman first prepared the sweet by adding sugar and ghee to leftover rice starch.
Atreyapuram villagers soon started making wrappers from rice flour, put sugar and ghee inside and folded them. They supplied the sweets to candy manufacturers all over the two Telugu states.
Normally, women make pootharekulu in their free time while men are engaged in the marketing of the sweet. The annual turnover of the cottage industry is estimated to be Rs. 3
crore
A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...
in 2016.
In August 2018, a group of cooks from East Godavari prepared a 10.5-meter long poothareku, as part of an attempt by the Andhra Pradesh tourism department to popularize Andhra cuisine.
Preparation
Pootharekulu is made from a particular kind of rice batter called ''jaya biyyam'' ('biyyam' meaning rice), combined with powdered sugar and
ghee
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals.
Description
Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...
(clarified butter). To make the edible film, a hot pot is prepared. To make the pot suitable, a hole is made in it, and to smoothen the surface for three days, the pot is alternately heated and wiped with a cloth dipped in oil. To make the films, coarse rice is ground for nearly two hours and made into a batter. This batter is then diluted; a thin cloth is dipped in the solution and put on the inverted pot with flame under it. The edible film forms on the pot instantly.
The edible film is then wrapped with sugar and/or jaggery and coated with ghee.
Varieties
Pootharekulu can be stuffed with different fillings, including fine powdered sugar, jaggery, dry fruits, and chocolate powder. Hot and spicy pootharekulu are a relatively new variant.
See also
*
List of stuffed dishes
References
{{Commons category, Pootharekulu
Andhra cuisine
Indian desserts
Confectionery
Stuffed dishes
