The festival of Ugadi is celebrated with grand festivity in the Southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. This festivity is also celebrated as Gudi Padwa in South-Western state Maharashtra. It is venerated on the 1st day of the Hindu month Chaitra as a beginning of New Year because it is deemed that the creator Lord Brahma started His creation on this day. The calculations from the great Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya also support this verity. The festival is rejoiced with full devotion and faith particularly in Deccan parts of India. People start their preparation for the Ugadi celebration early in morning; they clean their homes, sprinkle cow dung water, decorate with fresh mango leaves and Rangolis, worship God and offer many mouth-watering traditional dishes made on this very occasion. Some of the delicious traditional dishes of Ugadi are Ugadi Pachhadi, Puran Poli, Aval Payasam, Bisi Bele Bhath and Ariselu.
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Ingredients for dough:
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Ugadi Pachhadi
Ugadi Pachhadi is a well-known dish in Andhra for the Ugadi festival. It is one kind of chutney or sauce that gives a very unique taste by the combination of 6 different flavors including sourness, sweetness, pungency, saltiness, bitterness and chilli flavor. All the six tastes are known together as Shadhruchulu or six tastes. The credit of these 6 tastes goes to its ingredients raw mango, jaggery, tamarind, salt, coconut, neem tree flowers and red chilli powder. The mixture of all ingredients together represents different states-of-mind in our life. The sweetness of the jaggery, the sourness of the raw mango, the tanginess of the tamarind, and the hotness of the chili powder signifies that our life is filled with unpredicted surprises, be it contentedness, happiness, tranquility or sadness. It is also believed that Ugadi Pachhadi relives many small illnesses.
- Finely chopped raw fresh Mango: 1 cup
- Grated Jaggery: 1 cup
- Neem flowers (Margosa flowers): 1 tablespoon
- Tamarind paste: 3 to 4 tablespoon
- Mustard seeds: 1/4 teaspoon
- Chopped Coconut pieces (optional): 1 tablespoon
- Water: 1-1/4 cup
- Oil: 1 tablespoon
- Salt as per taste
- Red chilli powder as per taste
- Firstly, immerse tamarind in water, put aside for half hour and then boil it for 5 minutes.
- Cool it at room temperature and afterwards make it smoother by blending in a mixer.
- Pass it through a sieve or strainer to filter all fibers.
- Add jaggery and finely chopped mango pieces, and boil it again till jaggery melt and mango tender into the juice. After that, put it on one side.
- Heat oil in one pan and add mustard seeds.
- Add Neem flower in it after the spluttering of mustard seeds.
- Add salt and chilli powder as per your taste and fry till light brown.
- Finally, mix this Neem flower with tamarind paste.
Puran Poli
A sweet, warm and soft Puran Poli is a mouth-watering cuisine. Though the preparation of Puran Poli is time consuming and needs some patience and practice, the end result is amazing. Puran Poli is known as Holige in Kannada and Bhakshalu in Telugu. Look wise, it is similar to any other roti but inside it is stuffed with yummy sweet fillings made up of lentils and jaggery.
- All Purpose Flour/Maida (sifted): 1 cup
- Clarified butter (Ghee): 6 tablespoon
- Water: 1/2 cup
- A pinch of salt
- Bengal gram lentils: 1 cup
- Cardamom powder: 1 teaspoon
- Powdered Jaggery: 1-1.5 cups
- Take a sifted all purpose flour, make dough with the use of water and 2 tbsp of clarified butter, and knead it until it becomes soft and pliable. Wrap it with a wet cloth and keep aside for two hours.
- Pressure cook the Bengal gram using three cups of water, but do not overcook it. You can get your cooked lentil by just one whistle or by 20 minutes in medium flame.
- Spread the cooked lentil on a tissue paper and stand it for about 1 hour. Tissue paper will absorb the moisture and let the cooked lentil drain.
- Now add jaggery to this cooked and cooled Bengal gram and blend the mixture finely, but without adding water because there is a requirement of thick consistency. Now add the cardamom powder to this mixture. If by chance the consistency becomes thin & watery, heat for 7-10 minutes on low flame to thicken the mixture. Your Puran is ready.
- Now come to dough again, add the remaining clarified butter to the dough and knead it very well. Unlike the chapati dough, this dough should be stretched without breaking when you stretch it.
- Spread a banana leaf or a foil and lubricate it with clarified butter.
- Take a small lime size of dough and roll out like chapati. Now, take small lime size of Puran mixture, put it in the center of the rolled out bread, cover it from all sides by means of bread, and seal with your fingers.
- Smoothly roll out the ball, trying not to let the Puran mixture surge out. Try to make it as thin as a chapati.
- Heat a flat pan/griddle/tava and add some clarified butter. Invert the foil containing the poli on the pan, roast one side on a medium flame until it turns into golden brown, turn over it and roast another side. Apply munificent amount of clarified butter without receding. Once the poli has been cooked completely, remove it from griddle, transfer to a plate and serve hot.
Aval Payasam
Aval Payasam is a pretty easy recipe, particularly during the festival times. It is made with rice flakes and milk. It is a very handy cuisine to make when we have the desire for Payasam in ordinary days.
- Rice flakes (Poha): 1/4 cup
- Whole cream Milk: 1 liter
- Cardamom Powder: 4-5 pinches
- Sugar: 1 cup
- Thinly sliced Almonds: 4-5
- Thinly sliced Pistachios: 4-5
- Finely cut Cashews: 4
- Raisins: 15-20
- Wash & drain the rice flakes and put it aside for ten minutes. Loosen the rice flakes using fingers till each grain separates.
- Use large deep vessel to boil milk in it. As milk starts boiling well, add rice flakes and stir gently to take up boiling again.
- Boil the mixture till the quantity becomes almost half in volume.
- Add cardamom powder and sugar and dissolve them well.
- After that, add Cashews and Raisins and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Garnish your Aval Payasam with almonds and pistachios, and serve hot.
Bisi Bele Bhath
Bisi Bele Bath is a well-known rice based serving of South Karnataka. With the ingredients like lentil, rice, and vegetables all in a runny consistency, it is a healthy meal-in-one. It is very easy to prepare this dish. It can be had for lunch or even for breakfast.
- Toor dal: 1 cup
- White rice: 1 cup
- Medium sized onion: 1
- Grated coconut: 1 cup
- Chopped peas and carrots: 1 cup
- Medium sized potato: 1
- Chopped beans: 1/2 cup
- Tamarind paste: 1/4 teaspoon
- Curry leaves: 4 to 5
- Mustard seeds: 1 teaspoon
- Cashews: 2 teaspoon
- Oil: 1 teaspoon
- Ghee: 2 tablespoon
- Hing: a pinch
- Salt as per taste
- Coriander seeds: 3 teaspoon
- Dry red chillies (low to medium spiced): 4 to 5
- Cloves: 4 to 5
- Cinnamon/chakke/dalchini: 4" to 5"
- Take onion, peel and chop it into strips.
- Take potato, peel and chop it into 1" cubes.
- Place dal, vegetables and rice in a pressure cooker and add lots of water (in 1:6 proportions).
- Place the Cooker on burner and cook it till the rice and dal is well cooked.
- Dry roast coriander seeds, cinnamon, cloves, and red chillies until you scent the fresh scent of masalas.
- Blend the masala without adding water and make a smooth powder.
- Now, blend the masala with grated coconut by adding some water to make smooth paste.
- Mix the cooked dal-rice veggie mixture with the masala.
- Reheat this mixture on medium flame until it boils. Stir regularly.
- Mix well the jaggery, tamarind paste and salt into mixture, and bring to boil yet again.
- Now, heat ghee and add mustard seeds. After spluttering of mustard seeds, add hing, curry leaves and cashews for tadka. Mix well with dal-rice veggie in pressure cooker.
- Bisi Bele Bhaat is ready, serve hot with potato chips/raita!
Ariselu
Ariselu is Ugadi festival's special sweet recipe of Andhra and Karnataka. It is also known as Adirasam or Athirasam in Tamilnadu.
- Rice: 1 kg
- Jaggery: 3/4 kg
- Sesame Seeds: 1/4 cup
- Cardamom Powder: 1/2 tablespoon
- Water: 1 cup
- Some vegetable oil/ghee to deep fry
- Take the rice, wash them, and then soak them for 6 to 7 hours. Drain them, spread on cloth and let them dry. Mince the rice and make a fine powder.
- Take the jaggery, grate it, and place it in a pan. Boil it by adding 1 cup of water till it liquefies. Simmer and stir on slow flame till thick syrup-like liquor is formed.
- Add the rice powder in this liquor slowly and stir constantly. Take care that no lump should be formed.
- Remove the paste from fire and make small balls from it.
- Roll out the balls on plastic sheets to make round puris.
- Pat the puris in the sesame seeds.
- Heat some oil on a pan and deep fry the puris on low flame till they turn into deep brown.
- Place the puris in a dish and let them cool.
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