What Are Beef Tallow And Lard? 'Ingredients' In Tirupati Laddus That Have Kicked Up A Row

Nearly 400-500 kg of ghee, 750 kg of cashew nuts, 500 kg of raisins and 200 kg of cardamom are used to prepare the laddus.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has claimed that a key ingredient used to prepare the laddus given as 'prasadam' in the revered Sri Venkateswara temple contains animal fats and fish oil. He alleged that animal fat was used instead of ghee to make the 'prasadam' when his predecessor Jagan Mohan Reddy was the Chief Minister. Naidu's party TDP, as part of a proof to support his claims, presented a report by a laboratory identified as NDDB CALF (Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock & Food) and alleged the use of beef tallow, lard, fish oil and palm oil in the laddus.

The laddus are prepared in a special kitchen by a particular section that has been doing the work for centuries. The temple is offering the laddu as prasadam to devotees for over 300 years. Some reports say that nearly 400-500 kg of ghee, 750 kg of cashew nuts, 500 kg of raisins and 200 kg of cardamom are used to prepare the laddus each day.

What is Beef Tallow?

Tallow is made by removing, simmering and clarifying the fatty tissue of beef. Beef tallow is typically used for cooking at high temperatures such as deep frying and roasting. It is also used in the production of soaps and candles and sesoning cast iron utensils. Beef tallow is made up primarily of saturated fat, like other solid cooking fats such as butter and coconut oil, and is similar in texture to soft butter at room temperature. Liquid fats such as olive oil, peanut oil and canola oil are mainly unsaturated fats.

What Is Lard?

Once unavoidable for baking, lard has now been replaced by vegetable oil in most kitchens. Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig. It is It has been a staple across communities that consume pork. While it was once unavoidable in baking, it has now been replaced by vegetable oils in most kitchens.

Both the ingredients are fit for human consumption but their use to make 'prasadam' has kicked up the controvercy. Other main ingredients of the laddu are chickpea gram flour, sugar, small sugar cubes, cashew nut, cardamom, camphor, and raisins.