(This article is from The Quint’s archives and was first published on April 12 2019. It is now being republished to mark the festival of Ugadi.)
When it comes to food in our county, I’m sure you all agree that we’re quite the maestros of sugar, spice and ‘all things nice’. But has a dish ever made you feel everything and that too, all at once?
Well, that's how I felt after meeting the 'Ugadi Pachadi'.
Now for those wondering what those two words at the end of my last sentence meant, you’re clearly missing out. So let me relieve you of your ‘fomo’.
The ‘Ugadi Pachadi’ is a concoction of every flavour prepared specially for the occasion of Ugadi. Ugadi is the Telugu and Kannada new year.
Made with jaggery, neem flowers, raw mango, tamarind water, chilli and salt, the pachadi can pack a flavour punch so strong that it’s bound to make you introspect and here’s why.
The significance behind this dish comes from a very similar space. The six flavours of a pachadi also depict the distinct facets of life. Hold up... let me explain.
The bitterness from the neem reminds one of life’s unhappy moments and how to move past them, the sweet jaggery signifies the joy that we experience every day, the tang from raw mango is reminiscent of the element of surprise we all love, and the tamarind implies the sour notes of our journey. The chili is for anger and the salt for the namkeen memories we all have lived.
So, eating the pachadi is like tasting life.
Pretty deep, right? Told you. It’s got everything.
Ugadi preparations begin a week in advance. Falling in the month of April, this festival marks the arrival of spring and a change in weather. Since the festival is all about celebrating the joy of new beginnings, it is looked at as a chance to put the errors of your past behind you and start afresh. The pachadi, hence, becomes the perfect dish to begin the new year with.
However the pachadi is a little hard to get your hands on. You see, this isn’t your regular Swiggy or Zomato order. The chances of finding the authentic pachadi made for this festival are most possible only in a Telugu household.
But...what you can do is get an Andhra kitchen to custom make it for you, if you’re keen.
Side note: That’s what I did and made a bunch of unaware Delhiites try it for the first time! Watch the video to see how it went.
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