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Pootharekulu:- A royal sweet from Andhra Pradesh

                  Atreyapuram Pootharekulu:- A royal sweet from Andhra Pradesh

 

What is Atreyapuram Pootharekulu?

Atreyapuram Pootharekulu is a Traditional sweet Rice Paper  from the village of Atreyapuram of Andhra Pradesh. It is basically a paper thin sheet of Rice flour prepared on the wood fired special earthen pot and then coated with pure desi ghee, Jaggery /Sugar powder & nuts and rolled.  It is an authentic sweet exculsively prepared by local women of Atreyapuram village of Andhra Pradesh.

It is commonly known as Paper Sweet. This is so delicate that it instantly melts in mouth due to its delicate texture & crispy layers. 

Pic source:-https://in.cherrypick.city/products/vellanki-pootharekulu-dry-fruitspack-of-5pcs?shpxid=2ec5b189-0528-4b8d-a92a-d4865cbd6e09

  • The word Pootharekulu consist of two word Pootha & Rekulu. The word Pootha meaning Coating in Telgu and Rekulu means Sheet in english, so it is basically a Thin rice paper sheet coated with ghee & folded with Jaggery/Sugar.  Whereas the word Atreyapuram is a Village in Konaseema district of Andhra Pradesh where the traditional Pootharekulu sweet items are prepared since ancient times.
  • This Unique sweets of Andhra Pradesh is very delicate as it is paper thin rice sheet which immediately melt in the mouth, leaving a taste of ghee, jaggery & hint of cardamom.

 

Why Pootharekulu is so popular accross the country?

  • The reason for most popular of this sweet is due to its Authenticity & Uniqueness of its preparation which is mainly confined to the area of  Atreyapuram Village of Konaseema District of Andhrapradesh. It has recently got the Geographical Indication tagging in the year 2023 (GI Tag).
  • Govt of Andhrapradesh has taken several steps to popularize this unique sweets accorss the country & world through electronic media, food exhibition, news paper, movies etc.
  • After receiving the GI Tagging, its popularity further spread accorss the Country & world for its unqiue taste & texture.
  • Due to labor intensive, This sweet is mainly prepared by the local women of Atreyapuram village of Andhra Pradesh who have mastered in making this traditional sweets.
  • This traditional sweet is often offered to God & Goddess during regilious ceremony & festivals. Being as a travel friendly sweets & Uniqueness, it is often given as gift to relatives & friends specially during occassion such as wedding & festivals.
  • It is the only sweet made exclusively from thin rice sheet which is completely gluten free. 

 

Basic Ingredients :- 

  • Paper Rice:- Jaya biyyam Rice or MTU 3626 (Bondalu rice) rice variety is a special type of sticky Rice mainly used for the preparation of Pootharekulu. This rice is manily grown in the village of Atreyapuram of Andhra Pradesh. It is coarsely grounded into rice powder to make Rice flour and then mixed with water to make rice batter to prepare thin Rice paper film.
  • Jaggery:- Jaggery powder is the key ingredients used for filling the pootharekulu.
  • Desi Ghee:- Desi ghee is used to put it in the layers of thin rice paper along with Jaggery powder & Nuts.
  • Nuts:- Various chopped nuts like almond, pistachio & cashewnuts are used in the filling.

Method of preparation:-

Preparation of thin Rice paper sheet:- To prepare the thin rice paper sheet, locally grown starchy rice (Jaya biyyam Rice or MTU 3626/Bondalu rice) of Andhrapradesh is taken and it is then grinded smoothlty to prepare a thin rice batter.  with help of cotton cloth, the rice batter is spread on the hot earthen pot to make a thin rice paper sheet.

pic source:-https://zeezest.com/food/pootharekulu-recipe-how-to-make-this-sweet-delicacy-at-home-with-simple-ingredients-7053

Coating with ghee, Jaggery powder, nuts & cardamom powder:-The thin rice sheet is then coated with pure desi ghee, jaggery powder, nuts & cardamom powder into rice paper layers.  Rice paper is folded 2-3 times. Desi ghee helps the rice paper sheet to stick the delicate roll together. After the rice paper sheet is folded or rolled, it is ready to serve.

pic source:-https://www.facebook.com/StreetFoodstv/videos/atreyapurampootharekulu/1710977765870249/

Video link for preparation of pootharekulu:- 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=vlz6tIVaKUg

 

Types of Atreyapuram Pootharekulu

There are basically two types of Pootharekulu which mainly depends upon filling.

  • Jaggery Pootharekulu:- It is one of the most popular & most demandable. It contains filling of Jaggery powder, pure desi ghee, Nuts & cardamom powder.
  • Sugar Pootharekulu:- It contains filling of grain sugar, pure desi ghee, nuts & cardamom powder. 

 

pic source:-https://athreyapuramputharekulu.com/

 

Brief histry of Pootharekulu 

The origin of Pootharekulu can be traced back to the ancient Telgu kingdoms where it was considered as a popular delicacy served during festivals and special occasion such as marriage. It is believe to have been perfected by skilled chefs/halwai in the royal kitchen of Vijayanagara Empire (1336 AD to 1646 AD).

  • It is belive that it was first created by the local people accidently while trying to dispose the cooked rice water as it suddenly fell on another hot pot forming a thin layer of rice sheet. Since then the local people started preparing thin rice paper sheet and coated with the jaggery, ghee & nuts and rolled into cylinder sheet and eaten as a sweet and got its popularity. 
  • The receipe of Pootharekulu is closely guarded by loacl people and passed down through generation. Over the centuries, it has evolved and adopted to different regions changing taste & preference. However its traditional receipe & technique remains the same.

 

GI Tagging to Pootharekulu 

As per the official website of the Geographical Indication registry,  Govt of India has awarded the GI Tag (Geographical Indication tag) to the Atreyapuram Pootharekulu , the traditional sweet of Atreyapuram village of Andhrapradesh in the 14th June 2023 under application Number 804 in respect of food product (sweet). The GI Certificate number of  Atreyapuram Pootharekulu is 483. 

  • It was registered in the name of  Sir Arthur Cotton Atreyapuram Pootharekula Manufacturers’ Welfare Association, East Godaveri, Andhra Pradesh. The GIR & Technology of the Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Visakhapatnam had extended its support to get the GI Tag

List of website selling Authentic pootharekulu online:-

 

Content Reference:-

Author: chef radhe
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