The Venkateshwara Temple, at Tirumala is one of the holiest Hindu Shrines. Day in day out, devotees throng to this temple in droves. Well known worldwide as the home of the richest God in the world, Tirupati is also famous for just one other thing. The Tirupati Laddu is almost as famous as the lord Venkateshwara himself. Although, the laddus are not very expensive, costing only about 10 Rs each, they have a huge demand. Hundreds of people are standing in long queues at any given time to eat this divine sweetmeat.
There was a time when these laddu's were sold at exaggerated prices to gullible customers. Just to curb this unscrupulous business, the temple trust began issuing high tech coupons with a layer of biometric security like facial recognition. That just shows how bad people want to get their hands on the Laddu. The Tirupati laddu is made using clarified butter, chickpea flour, sugar, raisins, cashew nuts & cardamom into a fist-sized morsel of delight.
The recipe has been a closely guarded secret for the last 300 years. Only a select few cooks are given the privilege and honor of preparing the laddus. Roughly 300,000 laddus are prepared every day. Way back in 2009, the Tirupati Laddu got the GI (Geographical Indicator)Tag. This tag helps in stopping people from copying the recipe or trying to use the name. The kitchen of Tirumala has one of the largest kitchens in the world that feeds over one lakh people everyday. Devotees who visit the temple believe that eating the delicious meals prepared here gives a completeness to the pilgrimage.
