Welcome the new year with these five traditional Ugadi recipes

The Ugadi Pachadi prepared on the ocassion of the ‘ Sobhakritu Nama Samvatsara Ugadi’
| Photo Credit: G. Ramakrishna

Ugadi pacchadi

Serves – 4 Portions

Ingredients

• Powdered jaggery- ½ cup
• Tamarind pulp – ½ cup
• Raw mango diced- ½ cup
• Neem flowers – 1 tsp
• Fresh coconut grated- 1 tsp
• Bengal gram (soaked overnight) – 1 tbsp
• Ripe banana, diced – 2 tbsp
• Salt – to taste
• Chilli powder- ¼ tsp

Procedure

1. Soak tamarind in hot water for half an hour, strain and collect the pulp in a bowl.
2. To the tamarind pulp add powdered jaggery and mix till it dissolves.
3. Add the soaked Bengal gram to the mix
4. Add neem flowers, fresh coconut, ripe banana, salt, chilli powder, small pieces of raw mango

Mamidikaya pappu (Raw mango dal)

Serves – 4 portions

Ingredients

• Toor dal – 1 cup
• Raw mango (sour variety) – ¾ cup
• Green chillies – 06 large
• Curry leaves – 2 tbsp
• Hing – 1 tsp
• Red chillies – 3 nos
• Water – 4 cups
• Cumin seeds – 1 tbsp
• Mustard seeds- 1 tbsp
• Garlic – minced 1 tbsp
• Refined vegetable oil – 4 tbsp
• Salt – to taste

Preparation

1. Wash the toor dal and transfer it to a cooker, add water, diced raw mango chunks, slit green chillies, curry leaves and salt. Cook over medium flame for four whistles and keep aside.
2. For tempering, in a pan heat vegetable oil and to it, add mustard seeds and after it splatters add red chillies, hing, cumin seeds, and peeled garlic.
3. Add the tempering to the cooked lentils and adjust the seasoning with salt as desired and the consistency of the dal with water.
4. Serve hot

Note: Important to check the tanginess of the mango used and adjust the quantity accordingly for the final taste of the dal

Recipes by Chef Thimma Reddy, Executive Chef, The Park, Hyderabad

Bellam payasam/Pongal

Serving Size: 4 portions

Ingredients

• Full cream milk (unboiled) – 1 cup
• Rice – 1/4 cup
• Sago – 1/4 cup
• Jaggery, cut into small pieces – 1/2 cup
• Water – 1/4 cup + 1/4 cup
• Cashews, split – 3-4 tbsp
• Raisins – 3-4 tbsp
• Ghee – 2 tbsp
• Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp

Preparation

1. Wash and soak the rice and sago separately for about 15-20 minutes, then drain the water and keep aside.
2. Pour the milk in a heavy bottom pan and bring it to a boil on a slow flame.
3. Add the soaked rice and sago to the boiled milk.
4. Cook on a slow flame and keep stirring in intervals.
5. Add 1/4 cup of water after 10 minutes of cooking so that the rice and sago don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
6. After about 15 minutes of cooking the rice- sago are completely cooked and the entire mixture would have achieved a nice creamy texture.
7. Add 1/2 tsp of cardamom powder and mix well.
8. Switch off the flame and keep the mixture aside for it to cool a bit.
9. Take 1/4 cup water and 1/2 cup jaggery in a bowl. Cook on a low flame till the jaggery melts completely. Switch off the flame and allow to cool a bit.
10. Fry the cashews and raisins in 2 tbsp of ghee till golden brown in colour.
11. Strain the jaggery syrup into the creamy milk mixture. Mix well.
12. Add the fried cashews and raisins along with the ghee into the above mixture. Mix well.
13. Tastes best as both a nice warm pudding or chilled.

Note: The creamy milk mixture and the jaggery syrup should not be hot when mixing together otherwise the milk will curdle.

Recipe by Swathi Chavalam, home cook

Mamidikaya pulihora (raw mango pulihora)

Serving: 6 portions

Ingredients

• Raw mango (grated) – 2 nos (small)
• Rice (boiled) – 2 cups
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Hing – one pinch
• Red chillies (dried) – 3
• Cashew nuts – 1/4 cup
• Bengal gram – 1 tbsp
• Urad dal – 1 tbsp
• Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves- 2 sprigs
• Coriander leaves(chopped) – 1 bunch
• Green chillies (sliced) – 6
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Heat a pan, add oil to it.
2. To the hot oil add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, cashew nuts, chana dal and urad dal.
3. Roast them till urad dal changes colour to slight brown.
4. Add hing, turmeric and sauté it.
5. To the mixture add green chillies, curry leaves, grated raw mango, salt and let it cook for a few minutes.
6. Add boiled rice to it, top it with coriander leaves and toss it for two to three minutes.
7. Adjust seasonings in the end and serve hot.

Recipe by Chef Sanjay Thumma, Vah Re Vah

Poornalu

Serves – 15 – 20 numbers

Ingredients

• Urad dal – 1/2 cup
• Rice (uncooked) – 3/4 cups
• All purpose flour
• Bengal gram – 1 cup
• Ghee
• Black cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
• Grated coconut – 1 1/2 tbsp
• Water – 3 cups
• Jaggery – 1/2 cup
• Refined oil for frying
• Salt to taste

Preparation

For the batter

1. Soak the rice and urad dal in water overnight.
2. After soaking wash it twice and grind in a mixer adding little water and make it as a smooth batter.
3. To make the consistency add the all-purpose flour and mix it thoroughly.

For Bengal gram mixture

1. Wash the Bengal gram thoroughly.
2. To a big bottomed pan add Bengal gram, add water to it and bring it to a boil.
3. Pressure cook it till the Bengal gram is soft and drain the water.

For the Poornalu

1. To a pan add grated jaggery.
2. Mix it till the jaggery melts and add the Bengal gram and coconut to it. Keep stirring till the consistency turns thick paste and can be made into a ball.
3. To the mix add cardamom powder and ghee, mix it well and let it cool.
4. Roll the Bengal gram mixture into lemon size balls and keep it aside
5. To a pan, add oil for frying the poornalu. Check if the oil is hot enough for frying by adding a drop of the urad dal batter.
6. Mix the urad dal batter well and dip the Bengal gram balls in the mixture, making sure they are coated completely.
7. Drop them into the hot oil and fry it on a medium flame until the balls turn golden brown.
8. Transfer the fried poornalu to a plate.
9. While serving make a small hole to the poornalu add a spoonful of ghee into it.

Recipe by Vivaha Bhojanambu chain of restaurants