Karnataka temples asked to use only Nandhini ghee amid Tirupati laddoo row

Temples in Karnataka have now been ordered to mandatorily use only Nadhini ghee of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) for making laddoos or any other type of sweets as offerings.

In Short

• Karnataka temples to use ghee of Karnataka Milk Federation
• KMF stopped supplying ghee to Tirupati in 2023, resumed last month
• Lab report confirmed presence of animal fat, fish oil in Tirupati laddoos

Amid a massive row over the laddoos offered as prasad at Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati temple, the Karnataka government has ordered all the temples in the state to use only home-grown Nandhini ghee to make prasad.

There are over 35,000 temples in the state, which have now been ordered to mandatorily use only Nadhini ghee of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) for making laddoos or any other type of sweets as offerings, a government circular said.

"It is hereby instructed that at all notified temples that come under the Karnataka State Religious Endowment Department to only use Nandini ghee compulsorily for 'sevas' (services), lamps, preparation of all kinds of prasadas, and at 'Dasoha Bhavans' (where food is served)," the government order said.

Karnataka Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that 99 per cent of the temples in the state are already using Nandini ghee, which will be extended to all temples now.

Interestingly, last year, the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government stopped sourcing the Nandini ghee for the laddoos from KMF, after nearly 15 years of association, over pricing issues.

However, the KMF has resumed supplying its famous Nandini ghee to TTD from August after Chandrababu Naidu's directive to improve the quality of laddoos.

A massive row erupted after Andhra Pradesh Chief Chandrababu Naidu claimed that the previous YSRCP government under Jagan Mohan Reddy used substandard ingredients and animal fat for making laddoos at Tirupati temple, a charge denied by the latter.

However, on Thursday, a lab report revealed that the samples of the ghee used in making Tirupati laddoos contained foreign fat, including palm oil, fish oil, beef tallow and lard (obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig).