Ugadi

Andhariki Sarvadhari nama samvatsara subhakankshalu. We would like to wish you and your family a very happy, prosperous and a peaceful new year.

Ugadi is the start of a new year and a very important festival of the telugu and kannada people. This is also celebrated in Maharastra as Gudi Padwa.

Ugadi marks the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar with a change in the moon's orbit. It is a day when mantras are chanted and predictions made for the new year. Traditionally, the panchangasravanam or listening to the yearly calendar was done at the temples or at the Town square but with the onset of modern technology, one can get to hear the priest-scholar on television sets right in one's living room. [3]

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 of new jaggery, raw mango pieces and neem flowers and new tanarind which truly reflect life - a combination of sweet, sour and bitter tastes! [3]
Ugadi pachhadi - ఉగాది పచ్చడి with all six tastes (షడ్రుచులు), symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of different expereinces (sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise) , which should be accepted together and with equanimity. [2]

We make Garelu, Ugadi Pachhadi, Payasam & pulihora and offer it to God as Nivedhyam on this auspiscious day.

Ugadi Pachhadi Recipe:

Ingredients:

Raw Mango (diced) - 1 cup

grated Jaggery - 1/2 cup

Neem flowers - 1 tbls

Salt - 1/4 tbls

Tamrind paste - 1 tbls

Green chillies (Finely chopped) - 1

smallWater - 3 cups

Add all the ingredients to a vessel and mix them well. You could optionally add Sugar cane pieces, banana slices and small coconut pieces.

References:1. Eenadu Online2. Wikipedia3. About Ugadi