Pootharekulu

Pootharekulu (Paper Sweet)

File:Pootharekulu dry fruits.jpg Pootharekulu stuffed with jaggery and dry fruits
Origin
Alternative name(s)	Paper Sweet
Place of origin	Atreyapuram
Region or state	East Godavari
Creator(s)	Atreyapuram
Details
Course served	Snack
Serving temperature	Room temperature
Main ingredient(s)	Rice starch/Black gram, powdered sugar or jaggery, ghee
Variations	Vegetable poothrekulu
Other information	Unsuitable for diabetics

Pootharekulu or Poothareku (singular) is a popular sweet from Atreyapuram, East Godavari, India. 'Pootha' is coating and 'Reku' (plural Rekulu) is sheet in Telugu. PoothaRekulu are also known as ‘Paper sweets’ as they give the appearance of folded paper.

Origin

It is a wafer-like sweet created in Atreyapuram, a village and mandal in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. The village is well known for preparation and trading of this sweet. It is a labor-intensive job. It is procured at very cheap prices. With value additions, it becomes a delicacy which is sold at high prices in the cities.

Preparation

File:Making of Indian Sweet Pootareku.webm

Making of pootharekulu

It is made from a particular rice batter called jaya biyyam (biyyam means rice), powdered sugar and ghee (clarified butter). To make the edible film a hot pot is first to be prepared. To make the pot suitable for making edible films, a hole is made in it and it is alternately heated and wiped with a cloth dipped in oil for three days to smoothen the surface. To make films, coarse rice is ground for nearly two hours and made into batter. It is diluted and a thin cloth 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 thus obtained is wrapped with sugar/jaggery and coated with ghee.

Varieties

Pootharekulu filled with sugar in the left and jaggery on the right

Pootharekulu can be stuffed with different items such as fine powdered sugar, jaggery, dry fruits, chocolate powders, etc. For diabetic people Pootharekulu is available with artificial sugars of less calorific value.

External links

• Pootharekulu