Pootha Rekulu is a traditional sweet delicacy from Andhra Pradesh, with its origins dating back 300 years. As the story goes, an elderly woman was cooking rice in a clay pot when she noticed a thin, paper-like layer of rice starch forming on the outside of the pot. Intrigued, she carefully peeled off the sheet and later transformed it into a sweet treat by layering it with jaggery and ghee. Thus, Pootha Rekulu was born.
The name Pootha Rekulu translates to “coated sheets” in Telugu, perfectly describing the paper-thin layers of starch that envelop this delicacy. These sheets are filled with a mixture of powdered sugar or jaggery, cardamom, and ghee, creating a melt-in-your-mouth experience.
Pootha Rekulu is cherished across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Its delicate texture and rich flavor make it a unique sweet. The Atreyapuram Pootharekulu, from Atreyapuram in East Godavari, received a GI tag in 2023. Sir Arthur Cotton Atreyapuram Putharekula Manufacturers’ Welfare Association (SACAPMWA) employs more than 500 women in Atreyapuram to produce this sweet, which is shipped across the world.
