Ugadi n Ugadi pachadi

First n foremost wish u all a HAPPY UGADI


As you savour Ugadi Pachadi
Here's wishing that your
New Year is filled with all
The rich flavours of life!!!!!
HAPPY UGADI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This year Ugadi falls on March 27th 2009.Now lets see its significance



Ugadi (Kannada: ಯುಗಾದಿ, Telugu: ఉగాది from yuga+aadi, yuga is era, aadi means start. the start of an era) is the new year's day for the people of the Deccan region of India. While the people of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh use the term Ugadi for this festival, the people of Maharashtra term the same festival, observed on the same day, Gudi Padwa. Sindhis, people from Sindh, celebrate the same day as their New Year day Cheti Chand.
Ugadi is celebrated on a different day every year because the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar calendar. The Saka calendar begins with the month of Chaitra (March/April) and Ugadi marks the first day of the new year.


It is believed that the creator of the Hindu pantheon Lord Brahma started creation on this day - Chaitra suddha padhyami or the Ugadi day


It is a season for raw mangoes spreading its aroma in the air and the fully blossomed neem tree that makes the air healthy. Also, jaggery made with fresh crop of sugarcane adds a renewed flavor to the typical dishes associated with Ugadi. "Ugadi pachchadi" is one such dish that has become synonymous with Ugadi. It is made with a mixture of

1.Neem Buds/Flowers for bitterness
2.Raw Mango for tang
3.Tamarind Juice for sourness
4.Green Chilli/Pepper for heat
5.Jaggery for sweetness
6.Pinch of Salt for saltiness

This mixture with all six tastes (షడ్రుచులు), called "Ugadi Pachhadi" (ఉగాది పచ్చడి) in Telugu and "Bevu-Bella"( ಬೇವು-ಬೆಲ್ಲ ) in Kannada, symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of different experiences (sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise) , which should be accepted together and with equanimity.

Later, people traditionally gather to listen to the recitation of the religious almanac (Panchangam) of the coming year, and to the general forecast of the year to come. This is the Panchanga Sravanam, an informal social function where an elderly and respected person refers to the new almanac pertaining to the coming year and makes a general benediction to all present. The advent of television has changed this routine, especially in the cities. Nowadays, people turn on the TV to watch broadcasts of the recitation.

Preparations for the festival begin a week ahead. Houses are given a thorough wash. Shopping for new clothes and buying other items that go with the requirements of the festival are done with a lot of excitement. The celebration of Ugadi is marked by religious zeal and social merriment. Special dishes are prepared for the occasion. In Andhra Pradesh, eatables such as "pulihora", "bobbatlu" and preparations made with raw mango go well with the occasion.

With the raw mango available in abundance only during the two months (of April/May), people in Andhra Pradesh make good use of mangoes to last them until the next season. They pickle the mangoes with salt, powdered mustard and powdered dry red chilli and a lot of oil to float over the mangoes. This preparation is called "avakai" and lasts for a whole year.
Mangoes and summer season go hand in hand. Ugadi thus marks the beginning of the hot season which coincides with the school vacations.

My menu for Ugadi

Ugadi pachadi,Pulihora,Boorelu,Kesari,mangoe dal, kakarakaya vepudu,tomatoe rasam,papad, n curd .

Ugadi Pachadi

Ingredients:

3-4 Tbsp tamarind paste
2 small pc's of jaggery
few neem flowers/for people outside india where neem flowers are unavailable use tsp of methi pwd
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp chilli pwd
3 tbsp of chopped finely raw mangoe pcs'
few coconut pc's chopped fine
few sugarcane pc's chopped fine.
1 glass of water


Method


Mix all the above ingredients,adjust the sweetness,sourness according to ur taste.


Here in US staying in chicago we get lot of indian stuff....one such thing is i was able to get the dried neem flowers in one indian grocery store, and was also able to get a raw mangoe n sugarcane as well.....Ugadi Pachadi is prepared in many variations accross andhra pradesh but the basic 6 ingredients are always the same .Mine is more of a Andhra version,some people even add putnala pappu(channa dal) n banana pc's as well.