The famous 'Tirupati Laddu', which has a GI tag, is associated with:

The Tirupati Laddu is the famous sweet offering ("prasadam") of the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple at Tirumala, near Tirupati, in Andhra Pradesh.

About the Tirupati Laddu:

• It is also called "Srivari Laddu" (the Lord's laddu).
• It is made from gram flour (besan), sugar, ghee, cashew nuts, raisins, cardamom and edible camphor.
• It is prepared in the temple kitchen, called "Potu", by hereditary cooks and specially trained staff.
• Several lakh laddus are made every day and given to the millions of pilgrims who visit the temple.
• The tradition of offering laddus at the temple is said to date back to 1715.
• In 2009, the Tirupati Laddu received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, which means that no one else can sell laddus under the name "Tirupati Laddu".
• The temple is managed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), an independent trust set up in 1932.

About the Sri Venkateswara Temple:

• It is located on the Tirumala hills, part of the Seshachalam hills of the Eastern Ghats.
• It is dedicated to Lord Venkateswara (Balaji or Srinivasa), a form of Vishnu.
• It is one of the richest and most visited temples in the world.
• Pilgrims often offer their hair (tonsure) as a mark of devotion.
• The temple was patronised by many dynasties, including the Pallavas, Cholas, and the Vijayanagara emperors, especially Krishnadevaraya.
• The temple's main festival is the "Brahmotsavam", held every year in September-October.

Other famous temple offerings (prasadam) with GI tags or fame:

• Palani Panchamirtham (Tamil Nadu): a sweet mixture of bananas, jaggery and other ingredients from the Palani Murugan temple; it has a GI tag.
• Aravana Payasam: a sweet offering of the Sabarimala temple (Kerala).
• Jagannath Mahaprasad (Puri, Odisha): cooked in clay pots in the temple kitchen.
• Dharwad Pedha (Karnataka): a famous sweet with a GI tag.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Tamil Nadu is famous for the Palani Panchamirtham.
• ✗Karnataka is famous for the Dharwad Pedha and Mysore Pak.
• ✗Telangana is famous for the Hyderabadi Haleem (GI tag).