How is Tirupati laddu made? Who supplied ‘adulterated’ ghee for prasad?

A massive controversy has erupted in Andhra Pradesh over the preparation of Tirupati laddus.

This came after Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu claimed that animal fat was used in Tirupati laddus during the previous government when YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was the CM of the state.

Reddy’s party, YSRCP, in response, has accused Naidu of indulging in “heinous allegations” for political gains.

Here’s a look at how the laddus are prepared and who supplies ghee.

Origin of Tirumala laddu

Also called the ‘Srivari Laddu’, the Tirupati Laddu has been offered to Lord Venkateswara for more than 300 years.

It is believed that the laddu is his favourite naivedyam (an offering) to the God, who is worshipped as a form of Lord Vishnu.

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As per media reports, the temple started offering the laddu in 1715. The man behind its creation was Kalyanam Iyengar, who passed on the mantle to his son, brother, brother-in-law, and others. It is believed that it was his culinary expertise that made laddu the mainstay of the prasadam.

The laddus reportedly remain fresh for 15 days thanks to its advanced packaging techniques.

The laddus are so special that it even has a geographical indication tag granted in 2014, preventing anyone else from selling the sweet.

Types of laddus offered

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There are three types of laddus offered at the temple: Asthanam Laddoo, Kalyanosthavam Laddoo and Proktham Laddoo.

Prepared on festive occasions, Asthanam laddus are distributed to special guests, such as the Presidents and prime ministers and delegates from other countries.

Participants in the Kalyanotsavam, a unique religious rite celebrated on behalf of Lord Malayappa and his consorts as Vedic hymns are chanted, are given Kalyanotsavam laddus. Additionally, it is provided during Arjitha Seva Grihastas, a weekly Saturday event that includes flower offerings and the recitation of the Samavedan.

Proktham laddus, which are served to all pilgrims at the Tirumala Temple, are comparatively smaller.

Preparation

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, prepared the laddus themselves until 2001.

However, with the number of rising devotees in recent years, the authorities set up a “potu” or “The Lord’s Kitchen” to prepare the prasad.

In the years to come, they would set up another kitchen to make another 70,000 laddus daily.

The people preparing the sweets have to shave their heads and also wear a single clean clothes in the kitchen.

The ingredients for the laddus include ghee, sugar, little sugar cubes, cashew nuts, cardamom, camphor, and raisins.

To make the laddus and other offerings to the Lord, roughly 400–500 kilogrammes of ghee, 750 kilos of cashew nuts, 500 kilos of raisins, and 200 kilos of cardamom are needed each day.

The TTD performs a number of tests and inspections to guarantee that every ingredient used in the creation of this laddu is of the finest quality.

To guarantee the hygienic and pure quality of the ghee, TTD members even go to the factory where it is manufactured before making a purchase.

One TTD official claims that a number of factors are taken into consideration while evaluating the quality of ghee, such as its moisture level, aroma, free fatty acids, mineral oil, foreign colours, melting point, and rancidity.

The task of making the laddus falls to more than 600 cooks. Every batch’s first laddu is offered to the Lord. After then, it is combined with the remaining ingredients and given to the worshippers.

Price

Laddus come in small, medium, and giant quantities, weighing 40, 175, and 750 grammes, respectively, according to Tirupati Balaji Travels.

In the Venkateswara temple, the little laddus are distributed free to pilgrims.

The price of each laddu is Rs 200 for the big ones and Rs 50 for the medium ones.

Adulteration claim

The row first began on Wednesday when Andhra Pradesh CM Naidu alleged that the previous YSR Congress government used substandard ingredients and animal fat in preparation of the laddus distributed at Tirupati.

“Even Tirumala laddu was made with substandard ingredients… they used animal fat instead of ghee,” claimed Naidu. He further added that following the revelation pure ghee was now being used and everything had been sanitised inside the temple.

Later, state IT Minister Nara Lokesh posted on the issue on X, expressing his shock at the previous administration.

“The lord Venkateswara Swamy Temple at Tirumala is our most sacred temple. I am shocked to learn that the @ysjagan administration used animal fat instead of ghee in the Tirupati Prasadam. Shame on @ysjagan and the @ysrcparty government that couldn’t respect the religious sentiments of crores of devotees,” he wrote.

Doubling down on Naidu’s claims, the Andhra government made public a lab report, which confirmed that animal fat and fish oil were present in the famous ‘prasadam’ offered at the iconic temple.

The report was drawn up by a laboratory identified as NDDB CALF (Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock & Food).

TDP leader Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy, who made the report public on September 19, said that it confirmed the presence of beef tallow, lard and fish oil in the ghee, which is used in the preparation of the sweet. The sample receipt date was July 9, 2024, and the lab report was dated July 16.

The ghee supply

According to reports, the TTD board purchases ghee through an e-tender that is announced every six months. An estimated five lakh kilogrammes of ghee, or around 42,000 kilogrammes per month, are purchased by the board annually.

Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), the company that produces milk under the Nandini brand, has explained that they no longer provide ghee to the TTD as the controversy has grown. They claim that the decision was made four years ago due to concerns about pricing.

According to the newspaper, Amul, which has just made a push into Andhra Pradesh, is one of the primary providers of ghee.

Tamil Nadu-based A R Dairy Food Private Limited, which claims to be one of TTD’s many ghee suppliers, has refuted claims of adulteration.

The company head of the quality control department, told Indian Express, “First of all, the NDDB lab test report does not say that the ghee sample was from A R Diary. The report also mentions that there is a possibility of false positive results. TTD accepted the tankers of ghee we provided this June and July only after test reports were to their satisfaction. We stopped supplying after July as TTD changed the vendors. There are a number of reasons why traces of foreign fat may be found in ghee, including cow feed.”

“That ghee sample cannot be from A R Dairy Food Private Limited, that is our stand,” she said.

With inputs from agencies