Ugadi (New Year’s) is almost here! And what makes this day a little extra special? No doubt, it’s the food. Here are a few special dishes that are prepared in homes across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana.
Ugadi Pachadi is a staple dish in families from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Made with six ingredients – tamarind juice, raw mango, neem flowers, jaggery, salt and chillies - it perfectly balances sweet, sour, bitter and spicy flavours.
In Karnataka, people start Ugadi morning with Bevu Bella—Bevu for neem flower and Bella for jaggery.
Mamidikaya Pulihora (Telugu & Telangana) and Mavinakayi Chitranna (Kannada), commonly known as raw mango rice, is a staple Ugadi dish across all three states. Grated seasonal raw mango is sautéed with mustard seeds, lentils, and curry leaves, then mixed with freshly cooked rice.
Holige (Kannada) or Bakshalu (Telangana) is a sweet dish made with maida and a sweet puran filling. Pranitha, a homemaker from Hyderabad shares, “Bakshalu or Polellu is like a sweet paratha. We stuff a maida-based chapati with chana dal, jaggery, and cardamom, then roast it on a tawa with ghee.”
Kannadigas prepare Holige a bit differently. “We stuff the chapati with arhar dal, coconut, and jaggery, then roast it on a tawa with ghee,” shares Likitha from Bengaluru. “It’s a must-have sweet for Ugadi mornings.”
Crisp and brown on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside,” this is how people of Andhra explain their Ugadi sweet – Burelu. This deep-fried dish is the top pick for the sweet on their New Year’s day. Made of rice and urad daal batter, Burelu has a filling made of chenna daal and sugar or jaggery.
The sweet smell of jaggery and ghee fills the entire house on Ugadi mornings in all three states of Southern India. It’s now time to elevate your festive spread with these Ugadi dishes. Here are 5 rare varieties of mangoes, you can try this Ugadi.