India Post Special Covers on GI Tagged Products: 209. Bandar Laddu

Bandar Laddu is a very famous and traditional local sweetmeat delicacy of Machilipatnam in Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh. Bandar Laddu is prepared by using Bengal gram flour, jaggery syrup and ghee as its basic ingredients. Bandar Laddu is also known as Machilipatnam Laddu, Thokkudu Laddu, Machilipatnam Bandar Laddu. Machilipatnam is also known as ‘Bandar’ since times immemorial.

The origins of this sweetmeat of ‘Bandar Laddu’ can be traced from the 'Bondili ' community of Andhra Pradesh who live in good numbers in and around the town of Machilipatnam even today. Bondili people who migrated to Andhra Pradesh many centuries before from 'Bundelkhand’ region of Uttar Pradesh were traditional sweetmeat makers and practiced in traditional medicine.

Image Credit: bandarmithai.in

The following process are followed to prepare Bandar Laddu: Besan flour is mixed with water by hand to ensure that lumps of flour are easily mixed with water to obtain consistent dough. Pure Ghee is poured in a Kadai (Pan) and is heated well. A locally made ladle, which is hand held and perforated, through which dough is extruded.

The Dough is kept on ladle and pressed hard to ensure that the 'chaklis ' (strands) are obtained and they are allowed to fall on the hot ghee in Kadai and deep fried. The chaklies (strands) upon turning into golden yellow colour are removed from the kadai and the excess ghee is drained and the chaklies (strands) are allowed to cool.

Upon cooling the chaklies (strands) are hand pounded into coarse powder. In a separate kadai (pan) the jaggery syrup is prepared, by using crushed jaggery lumps and water is added to this mixture and it is heated and syrup is obtained.

The pounded chaklies is mixed with the hot jaggery syrup and allowed to cool for Five Hours. Periodically this mixture is pounded to ensure the texture of the Bandar laddu is obtained. Upon cooling, the mixture is hand rolled into balls. Sometimes, for enhancement, cashew nuts and raisins are added, cardamom powder is also added to enhance the aroma.

The special characteristic of Bandar Laddu can be attributed to a host of factors like choice of pure ingredients and also, the specialized human skills of meticulous preparation of ‘chaklis’ by carefully extruding them in ladles and frying it in ghee for stipulated time.

Most importantly the hand pounding of the jaggery syrup and besan flour mixture to achieve a homogeneous material for making the Bandar Laddu has been the art perfected by the skills gained by the local sweet makers of Machilipatnam.