We just love the diversity in Indian culture, and the best instances are the festivals we celebrate year-round. After celebrating Holi and Easter, we are now set to mark Ugadi. Ugadi, or Yugadi, is the first day of the New Year, as per the lunisolar calendar, in the Southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. Every year, Ugadi falls on the first day of Chaitra in the Hindu calendar, which typically is in late March or early April. It is also marked as the first day of Chaitra Navratri. For the uninitiated, Ugadi is celebrated as Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra and Goa. This year, Ugadi falls on April 9, 2024, coinciding with the first day of Chaitra Navratri 2024.
How Is Ugadi Celebrated? What Are The Features Of Ugadi Celebration?
A typical morning on the day of Ugadi starts with cleaning and decorating the house with flowers, mango-leaf toran, and rangoli. On this day, people also wear new clothes, meet family and friends, and exchange gifts and wishes. Besides, what plays a major role in the festival is food. Families organize traditional meals for lunch and dinner, with Ugadi pachadi being the constant everywhere. It is a flavourful pachadi with the perfect balance of all the major flavours - sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent, and piquant. On this day, people offer this special pachadi as naivedyam (bhog) during puja.
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5 Traditional Recipes For Ugadi Celebration:
1. Ugadi Pachadi:
This unique pickle is made with a combination of tamarind, raw mango, neem flower, jaggery, salt and red chilli powder or black pepper powder. You need to pound all the ingredients together to prepare a fresh mix to offer to god and serve with your meal. Click here for the recipe.
2.Payasam:
Payasam is basically kheer, made with milk, sugar/jaggery and rice. You can also replace rice with moong dal, carrot, sewai and more. Click here for some classic payasam recipes.
3. Holige:
Holige or obbattu is a South Indian style stuffed paratha, made with sweet filling. It also includes maida, jaggery, cardamom and toor dal. You can also call it the South Indian-style puran poli. Click here for the recipe.
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4. Lemon Rice:
It is a flavourful rice recipe prepared with curry leaves, turmeric, whole chilli and mustard seeds. The distinct flavours of lemon rice are enhanced with lemon juice. Click here for the recipe.
5. Bisi Bele Bath:
To put it simply, bisi bele bath is a traditional porridge made with rice, dal, vegetables and coconut. It is a traditional dish from Karnataka and tastes delicious. Click here for the recipe.
Happy Ugadi 2024, everyone!