Pootharekulu

"Pootharekulu" (Telugu: పూతరేకులు), some times called "Paper Sweets" by the Andhra people, is a sweet dish of Eastern and CoastalAndhra Pradesh of Southern India. It is a sweet version of a Vegetable Roll where the 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.

Pootharekulu was probably developed by the Brahmin families of Rajahmundry City in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh c. 16th century AD ^{Reference will be fixed soon} . In the Telugu language, "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.

Facts about Pootharekulu

1). Pootharekulu are currently available in cities such as New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Bellary and parts of Karnataka and in a few confectioneries run by [Andhra] s in the United States of America, Great Britain and Germany.

2). Pootharekulu is one of the most popular sweets of Andhra together with Kakinada Kaja, Bandaru Laddu (బందరు లడ్డు), Sunnundalu (సున్నుండలు), Ariselu (అరిశలు) etc.

3). Preparation is more difficult than that of Rasgulla, Jalebi or Emarti etc.

4). The Bridgegroom in a marriage ceremony in coastal Andhra is offered Pootharekulu by his Bride.

5). Sugar free Pootharekulu are in an experimental stage.

Caution for diabetics

Pootharkulu is not recommended for diabetic patients.

Availability

The best quality Pootharekulu is found in Rajahmundry, Kakinada, and Narsapuram.

Nowadays, Pootharekulu can also be found in Hyderabad at Pulla Reddy Sweet Houses and Swagruha Foods and in a few sweet shops run by Andhras.

ee also

List of Indian sweets and desserts

Mirchi Bajji