Happy Ugadi!
Posted On Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at at 3/20/2007 10:58:00 AM by Nav
Dear Readers,
Happy Ugadi - Sarvajit Naama samvatsara subhakankshalu!
Picture By: Dear Husband
Most of the Telugu households welcome the traditional new Year with all zest and fervour by celbrating the festival Ugadi. Ugadi not only marks the beginning for the telugu new year, but also welcomes the glorious green season of the delicious mangoes, comes with the blossoms of the pungent, but the wonderous medicinal neems. If you have heard of Ugadi, it is very likely that you have also heard about the famous Ugadi Pachadi, which is served without fail on the day of Ugadi. Ugadi Pachadi is a blend of the six tastes nature offers to us, traditionally called as "shadruchulu". The six tastes are:
Teepi - Sweet
Pulupu - Sour
Chedu - Bitter
Vagaru - Tart
Karam - Hot
Uppu - Salt
Each taste parallels with the kind of experiences an average person comes across in his/her life. This Pachadi signifies and sends a strong message that we all ought to take our sweet or bitter or any other kind of experiences in the same manner. It accentuates the idealisticrepresentation of the right blend in one's life.
Now to the recipe: Ugadi Pachadi has probably a record number of recipes, the main theme being " the blend of the six rudimentary tastes". Here is the version prepared in our home
Water 7-8 cups
Tamarind paste - 2 tbsp
Jaggery - 4 tbsp
Green Mango - 1 medium
Green chillies - 1 or 2
Neem flowers or tender neem leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Take the water in a mixing bowl (traditionally done in an earthen pot)
Extract tamarind pulp and mix it with the water
Grate/powder the jaggery and mix in water
Cut the green mangoes into small cubes and and to the above mixture
Also add neem leaves, green-chillies, salt
Garnish with Cashew nuts, Chiroli (Saara pappu) , Roasted Bengal gram (Putnaalu) , Poppy-seeds (Ghasaghasalu) ..
Some fond Memories associated with Ugadi festival:
Nanna (Father) making the ugadi pachadi in a freshly bought matti kunda (earthen pot). He mixes tamarind and jaggery in the pot and arranges all other ingredients in small round steel plates on the dinning table. Anyone and everyone who comes home that day is forced to have the pachadi and Nanna does not leave them until they have had a glass or two.Amma (Mother) making all other delicacies such as mango pulihora, masala vada and other sweets and savouries.All telugu newspapers and magazines (Swati, AndhraPrabha, Vanitha..) featuring cartoons and jokes about Ugadi Pachadi. Most of them are in lines of: if you want to scare someone who is visiting your house; treat them to Ugadi Pachadi :)) Believe me it is not that bad..Panchaga Sravanam on the radio and telivision channelsBeginning of the hot-summer season which means school holidays; sleeping on the terrace; eating loads of mangoes and ofcourse irregular powercuts and shortage of water
Navsss,
Happy Ugadi to you !! (I know it's late) But still..
Great post about Telugu traditions and the New year :)
Hugs,
Mythili
Dear Nav, All about ugadi...interesting and informative...about various tastes in the pachadi and the significance of including all of them too... Your narration of how this is celebrated in your house with your father making the pachadi and mother the other delicacies brings back great memories of my childhood.Your ref. to what appears in the local paper - :). Great going!
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!