A divine delicacy with a rich legacy

Tirupati: At the world-renowned Hindu shrine of Tirumala, Lord Venkateswara Swamy is revered as the god of Kaliyuga. Alongside the divine darshan, the temple’s most famous offering, laddu, has gained global recognition. This sacred prasadam, introduced around 80 years ago, has overshadowed other offerings, symbolising the sanctity of Lord Venkateswara’s blessings.

In 2009, the Tirupati laddu was granted Geographical Indication (GI) status, protecting it from unauthorised reproduction and allows TTD to take legal action if anyone does it.

As per Brahmanda Purana, Lord Vishnu in search of Goddess Lakshmi descended to the Venkatachalam hills, manifesting as Venkateswara Swamy. Over centuries, various royal dynasties worshipped the deity, contributing to the temple’s present-day structure and rituals. Early prasadam offerings included rice dishes, appalu, dosas and small laddus. Due to a lack of facilities, rice-based prasadam was the primary offering to pilgrims.

From 1843 to 1933, the British entrusted the administration of Tirumala to the Hathiram Bawaji Math, during which prasadam mainly comprised rice dishes. Post-1933, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) took over, introducing a sweet boondi called Manoharam made from Bengal gram flour and sugar syrup. During 1941-43, this evolved into the iconic laddu.

According to TTD sources, in 1950, TTD introduced guidelines to regulate ingredients for laddu preparation, adjusting quantities as the number of devotees grew.

Initially, 5,100 laddus were made daily using 803 kg of ingredients, including 180 kg of Bengal gram flour, 165 kg ghee and 400 kg sugar, 30 kgs of cashew nuts, 4 kg elaichi, 16 kg of kismis and 15 to 20 kg saffron flower and green camphor.

The preparation of laddus was initially a hereditary responsibility of Vaishnavaites, with production managed by archaka mirasi families.

Over time, the preparation shifted from temple kitchens to external facilities and cooking methods evolved from wood to gas stoves. TTD established systems to oversee the quality of prasadam and manage ingredients, procurement and marketing. The laddus are known for taste and quality which typically have a shelf life of up to 15 days when properly packaged.

Devotees consider the laddu prasadam as a most sacred one and without getting laddu their Tirumala visit will not be completely fulfilled. Even after reaching their homes, they normally offer the prasadam to the god and distribute it to all their near and dear.

Currently, the TTD produces around 3 lakh laddus daily to meet the demands of 70,000 to 80,000 pilgrims visiting the temple each day. Each 165-gram laddu costs TTD Rs 43 to produce, which now it is selling at Rs 50. To curb black marketing, TTD now makes laddu available at its local temples around Tirupati on the production of Aadhaar card.

Despite various challenges over the decades, the Tirupati laddu remains a beloved offering, with over ten million laddus sold annually, reflecting its unmatched sanctity and significance.