Tirupati laddu
Geographical indication
Tirupati Laddu on Indian stamp
Alternative names	శ్రీవారి లడ్డూ -- Srivari Laddu
Description	Laddu sweet offered as Naivedhyam to Lord Sri Venkateswara, at Tirumala Venkateswara Temple of Tirupati
Type	Foodstuff
Area	Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh
Country	India
Registered	2009
Material	Gram flour, cashew nuts, cardamom,
Official website	http://www.tirumala.org

Tirupati laddu, also known as Tirumala laddu or Śrīvāri Laḍḍū,^[1] is the laddu sweet offered as Naivedhyam to Venkateswara at Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The laddu is given as prasadam to devotees after having the darshan in the temple. The laddu prasadam is prepared within the temple kitchen known as 'Potu' by the temple board Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Tirupati Laddu received Geographical indication tag which entitles that only Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams can make and sell it.^[2][3]

The practice of offering laddu to Venkateswara at Tirumala Venkateswara Temple started on 2 August 1715.^[4][5]

To prevent black marketing of Tirupati laddus, in 2008, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams registered for a geographical indication tag. In 2009, it obtained patent rights to Tirupati laddus under the category foodstuff under the GI Act 1999.^[6] This has prevented others from preparing or naming the sweet with the same name.^[1] In 2017, as part of their cuisine series, the India Post unveiled a postal stamp that commemorated the Tirupati Laddu.^[7]

The kitchen where Tirupati laddus are prepared is referred since olden days as Laḍḍū pōṭu. It lies inside the Sampangi pradakshinam of the temple. The Potu is equipped with three conveyor belts used for carrying ingredients into the potu and finished laddus to the selling counters from Potu.^[8] Out of three conveyor belts the first one installed during 2007 can transfer only laddus and the second installed in the year 2010 can transfer both laddus and boondi. The third conveyor belt was installed in 2014 as a backup for the two conveyor belts should they malfunction.^[9] In olden days only fire wood was used to cook laddus, which was replaced by LPG in the year 1984.^[5]

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams prepare an average of 2.8 lakh laddus a day in laddu potu. At present, the potu has the capacity to make 800,000 laddus a day.^[5]

Diṭṭam is the list of ingredients, and its proportions used in making of Tirupati laddu in adherence with Agamas. To meet the increasing demand for laddus, changes were made to Dittam six times in its history.^[5] At present the ingredients include Gram flour, cashew nuts, cardamom, ghee, sugar, sugar candy and raisins.^[1] Per day it uses about 10 tonnes of Gram flour, 10 tonnes of sugar, 700 kg of cashew nuts, 150 kg of cardamom, 300 to 500 litres of ghee, 500 kg of sugar candy and 540 kg of raisins used to prepare laddu. TTD procures all these items based on tenders on yearly basis.^[10]

Around 620 cooks work in the laddu potu to make laddus. These workers are referred to as potu karmikulu. Around 150 potu workers are regular employees, while more than 350 work on a contract basis. Of them, 247 are chefs.^[10][11]

This laddu is regularly distributed to all the common pilgrims visiting the temple. It is small in size and weighs 65-75 grams. These laddus are prepared in large numbers.^{[citation needed]}

This laddu is prepared only on special festive occasions. It is large in size and weighs 750 grams. It is prepared with more cashews, almonds and saffron strands.^{[citation needed]}

This laddu is distributed to devotees who participate in Kalyanotsavam and in a few of Arjitha sevas. There is huge demand for these laddus. These are prepared in very few numbers when compared to the Proktham Laddu.^{[citation needed]} Shelf life of the laddu is about to 15 days with the advanced packaging system implemented by TTD.

On 19 September 2024, the current Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, claimed that the Tirupati laddu included Cow meat Beef tallow, Fish oil, and pig lard in its ingredients, during the administration of the ex-Chief Minister, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. A day later, a report from a lab in Gujarat confirmed these allegations, sparking an outrage among Hindu communities and devotees. The lab was setup in 2009 by National Dairy Development Board, a statutory body of the Indian government.^[12] This also lead to a "blame game" between the ruling party, TDP, and the opposition and previously-in-power party, YSRCP.^[13]

• List of geographical indications in India

• Kannan, Shilpa; Boominathan, Premanand (20 July 2016). "Tasting India's coveted holy sweet". BBC News. Retrieved 20 July 2016.

v t e Venkateswara Temple
History	Legend Bruce's Code Vaikuntha Varaha Purana
Deities	Tirumala Dhruva Bera Bhoga Srinivasa Malayappa swami Ugra Srinivasa Koluvu Srinivasa Tirumala Krishna
Festivals	Srivari Brahmotsavam Abhideyaka Abhishekam Pavithrotsavam Tirumala Shanivaralu Vasantotsavam
Geography and sites	Tirumala Alipiri Seshachalam Hills Venkata Natural Arch Sapthagiri Tirumala ghat roads Vaikuntam Queue Complex
Architecture	Ananda Nilayam
TTD	Tirupati laddu SVBC TV Sapthagiri
People related to the temple	Tarigonda Vengamamba Annamacharya
See also	Vaikuntha Ekadasi Garuda Śrī Sūkta