Pootharekulu
 Pootharekulu | |
| Alternative names | Paper Sweet |
|---|---|
| Course | Snack |
| Place of origin | India |
| Region or state | Godavari region |
| Main ingredients | Rice starch, Powdered sugar, ghee |
| Variations | Vegetable poothrekulu |
| Other information | unsuitable for diabetics |
Pootharekulu (Template:Lang-te) or Paper Sweets by the Andhra people, is a wafer-like sweet of Eastern and Coastal Andhra Pradesh of Southern India.[1]
It is a sweet version of a Vegetable Roll, where vegetables are replaced by finely ground sugar powder in fine laminated foils made of rice. The wafer's size varies from 100 to 1000 micrometres depending on the expertise of the person who makes it.[citation needed] The best pootharekulu are made in Rajahmundry, Kakinada, and Narsapuram.
History
Pootharekulu was probably developed by the Brahmin families of Rajahmundry City in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh c. 16th century AD[citation needed]. Aatreyapuram, near by Rajahmundry in the Godavari basin is the birthplace and known its most popular export, the pootha rekulu.
In Telugu, pootha means "coating OR to coat" and reku means a foil, translating to English as "sugar coated foils". The lu suffix (poothareku lu) is added to denote the plural form of Poothareku.
Preparation
It is made from rice starch and powdered sugar.
Process
This process demands great craftsmanship for making wafers from rice starch. Traditionally, rice is boiled to the consistency of a gruel, this gruel is smeared on an upturned heated earthen pot, the heat makes the gruel to set in a layer. This layer is removed and fresh gruel is reapplied to the pot. This process is repeated to produce layers of dried rice starch. Powdered sugar is applied with ghee between delicate strips of extremely fine, flaky layers, which are finally rolled up to make a roll of "Pootha reku".
Trivia
- Preparation is more difficult than that of Rasgulla, Jalebi or Emarti etc.
- In a wedding in coastal Andhra, the Bridegroom is offered Pootharekulu by his bride.
References
External links
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