Traditional Andhra Sweets - Mamidi Tandra, Pootarekulu, Kakinada Kaja, Tirupati Laddu

Mamidi Tandra is a traditional Indian snack. It is a fruit leather made out of mango pulp mixed with concentrated sugar solution and sun dried. It is a part of the South Indian and North Indian cuisine and is available is numerous varieties all over india. Mamidi Tandra is sweet, although it is available in different other tastes. It can be preserved for months making it popular in the off season of mangoes. A village named Atryapuram in Rajahmundry is popular for mamidi tandra.

Mango pulp is mixed with potassium metabisulfite and spread on trays to dry in the sun. After the first layer dries, another layer is spread over it and allowed to dry. The process is repeated until the desired thickness is reached. The thickness varies depending upon the quality of mango pulp used. When this thickness is reached the Mamadi Tandra is cut into pieces and wrapped in oiled paper or into different packages. Mamidi Tandra is widely exported .

Pootarekulu making is an art and many households in west Godavari have mastered. Pootharekulu or Paper sweet is very famous sweet of  Telugu people. It is made with thin and transparent papers rolled with sugar and ghee.  A special variety of rice called Jaya and a special pot are required to make this sweet. 

This pot is heated on  fire lit with palm leaves. The rice of jaya variety is soaked for 2-3 hours.  Then its finely ground into liquidy mixture. It is just like starch water. The Pot specially  made for  making  this paper sheets is  put inverted on the low fire made with palm leaves. A fine muslin cloth of  handkerchief size is dipped in the starch water and quickly pulled on the hot pot . Due to heat  this starch comes out as a thin and transparent paper.  This paper sheets or pootharekulu are later rolled with sugar or jaggery.

Atreyapuram a small village in East Godavari district of Andhrapradesh is very famous for pootharekulu. Here every women in the village is busy with preparation of pootharekulu which are exported to different states of the country and also abroad.

It has become a cottage industry and has been flourishing here for almost three generations. Apparently, one old lady while cooking suddenly hit up on the idea of making good use of starch that come when cooking price. She extracted it, added sugar and ghee to it and thus was born the humnble Pootarekulu.

 

Kaja is sweet made from Refined wheat flour, sugar and edible oils . It is made and eaten all throughout Indian subcontinent, though it is known by different names. Khaja of Kakinada, a coastal town of Andhra Pradesh, is very famous. Khaja of Tapeswaram is also famous. First, a paste is made out of wheat flour, mawa, and oil. Then it is deep fried until crisp. Then a sugar syrup is made which is known as "Pak or pakkam". The crisp croissants are then soaked in the sugar syrup until they absorb the sugar syrup. The specialty of Khaja is that it is dry and smooth from the outside and full of sugar, syrup, and spices on the inside and is very juicy. It melts as soon as one puts it in one's mouth.

In South India similar variety of sweet is prepared, it is known as Badusahi or Padusahi. The same kind of Sweet when stuffed with stuffing made of dryfruit etc., it is known as Chandrakala (half round) or Suryakala (Full round).

Laddu or Laddoo is a ball-shaped sweet popular in South Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh as well as countries with immigrants from South Asia including Guyana, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago. It is often prepared for festivals or family events such as weddings and births, or given as a prasad at Hindu temples. Laddu is made of a base of flour or ground coconut, combined with sugar.

Laddu comes from the Sanskrit word transliterated as ladduka or lattika meaning a small ball. Common flours used for laddu include besan (chickpea flour) and rava (wheat semolina).