Pootha Rekulu- The Speciality of Andhra Pradesh.

Pootha Rekulu is one of the popular sweet dishes unique to the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is basically made from thick rice starch which is considered to be highly nutritious. Pootharekulu is prepared in the form of very thin sheets on which sugar and ghee is coated.

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.

Though the traditional method of preparation of this exciting dish requires a bit of skill and practice, it can be learned easily. The recipe for Pootha Rekulu is as follows:

Ingredients:

Rice starch

Powders sugar: 2 cups

Ghee: ½-1 cup

Cardamoms-few

Step 1 Take a little rice starch (gruel or “ganji”) and smear it over an overturned earthenware pot that is heated with fire from underneath. A very thin rice sheet is thus formed due to the heat.

Step 2 Apply ghee carefully over the sheet and sprinkle powdered sugar. Optionallly, also sprinkle some cardamom powder. 

Step 3 Layer the sheets, repeating the process of applying ghee and powdered sugar at each layer.

Step 4 Cut into approximately 4 inch long pieces. 

In modern times, Maida is sometimes used as an alternative to starch. It is first mixed with ghee and water to make smooth dough. Small balls are prepared and rolled into thin sheets by a puri presser. Ghee and sugar are then applied.  Steps 3 and 4 stated above are repeated.

It is really a treat to have this dish as it is uniquely prepared and has a great taste.