Atreyapuram Pootarekulu

Have you ever eaten a sweet that resembles like a think sheet of plastic paper?  That is what Pootarekulu look like. Two thin sheets of paper that are bound by drops of Ghee (Clarified butter), a spoon of powedered sugar or jaggary is added in between and rolled strategically to give your the final sweet called “Pootarekulu”.  Atreyapuram in East Godavari District is famous for Pootarekulu.

How one makes this thin sheet of paper which looks like plastic but melts in your mouth the moment it is put is an altogether different ball game.  When we arrived at Atreyapuram it was evening and aparently they prepare the sheets of paper in the morning.  It is done with the help of a pot which is inverted over a low flame and smeared with a thin coat of liquid prepared with rice powder and water.  I don’t know the technique but looks very amazing when I saw it being prepared on one of the You Tube channels.

Visit to Atreyapuram was eventful in that I got to eat Putarekulu made stuffed with jaggary and cashewnut powder.  It was nothing like what is available in the sweet shops in Hyderabad.  The one is Hyderabad are too sweet and too powdery.  I was told by our driver that they add saccharine to sugar and that’s why does not give an authentic taste.