Ugadi treats you must try


“The best part about Ugadi is the food, which uses various combinations of pulses, vegetables and the five flavours — sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy — to symbolise the different facets of life. Right from the Ugadi pachadi to the mixed vegetable curry, the idea is to celebrate the variety of life,” she says. But for me, the celebrations are two-fold. “I am married to a North Indian, so the we celebrate Ugadi in both styles. However, some things that still remain very dear to me are the goodies my mother used to whip up. In fact, I’ve never been able to make the Ugadi pachadi the way she does.”
The pachadi, she says, is the perfect blend of flavours with tamarind water, jaggery, neem flowers, raw mango, dry fruits, salt and khus khus. “All of them mixed together produce an amazing combination of flavours. You can give it that extra zing with a hint of elaichi powder,” adds Ajitha.
Since it’s the new year, the fare is strictly vegetarian with dishes like dal made with three different pulses, a mixed-vegetable curry, chukka kura, vadas and an assortment of chutneys to go with them. “My favourite however, remains the combination of piping hot dal vada with some refreshingly cold mango chutney,” says Ajitha, adding, “Another thing we relish is hot bobbatlu drizzled with some ghee and milk to go along with it. I however, prefer to pair the bobbatlu with chutney instead.” Here are some Ugadi special recipes, straight out of Ajitha’s kitchen.
Dal Vada
Ingredients
- 1 cup channa dal
- ½ cup moong dal
- 5 pods garlic
- 3 green chillies
- Salt to taste
- Cumin to taste
- Methi leaves, 1 bunch
- 1 onion, finely chooped
Method
Soak the channa and moong dal for two hours before grinding it coarsely. Now make a paste of the methi, garlic, green chillies and cumin and mix with the batter. Add salt as per taste. Add the onions and mix. Now wet your hand and pat the batter evenly. Ensure it is not too thin, as the vadas will turn out too crisp. On the other hand, if you spread it too thick the vadas will become soggy.. Now, heat some oil and fry them till golden brown. Serve with mango chutney.
Mango Chutney
Ingredients
- 2 raw mangoes (make sure they are firm)
- 1½ tbsp salt
- 1½ tbsp red chilli powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 1½ tsp ginger garlic paste
- Mustard powder to taste
- Cumin powder to taste
- Methi powder to taste
For the tadka
- Mustard
- Cumin
- Curry leaves
- Dry Red chillies
- Asfoetida
Method
Peel and grate the mangoes. Mix it with the masalas. Fry the mustard, jeera, curry leaves, dry red chillies and asfoetida and allow it cool. Once it cools, add this tadka to the grated mango. Serve cold.
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