Ugadi Pachadi or Bevu Bella Panakam is a festive drink that consists of 6 ingredients having 6 different tastes (sweet, sour, salt, spicy, pungent, and bitter). It symbolizes the ups and downs of life - that one must accept all the flavors of experiences coming in this New Year.
Wish you all a very happy and prosperous Ugadi. Stay safe!!
Ugadi Pachadi or Bevu Bella Panakam is the first food that is consumed after offering it to God on Ugadi in form of naivedyam.
I have already shared my first recipe (Mango Rice or Chitranna) for Ugadi 2021 and explained what Ugadi (Gudi Padwa) is. In short, it's a New Year for the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Goa.
Here is my second recipe for Ugadi, the most popular and must-have during the Ugadi festival.
What is Ugadi pachadi?
It is a mixture of 6 tastes - sweet, sour, salt, spicy, bitter, and pungent which symbolizes that life is a mixture of anger, happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, and disgust or unpleasantness.
Ingredients for Ugadi pachadi or 6 Tastes of Ugadi
Jaggery - sweet taste comes from jaggery and it symbolizes joy and happiness.
Tamarind - sour taste comes from tamarind and it symbolizes unpleasantness.
Unripe or raw mangoes - astringent or pungent taste comes from raw mangoes which symbolizes surprise.
Neem flowers - bitter taste comes from neem flower which symbolizes sadness.
Pepper powder - spicy, hot taste comes from pepper powder which symbolizes anger.
Salt - salty taste comes from salt which symbolizes unknown fear.
There is no proportion for this recipe. Adjust all the spices to your taste.
How to make Ugadi Pachadi or Bevu Bella panakam recipe?
- Soak the tamarind in hot water till it softens.
- Add jaggery to another cup of water and stir till it melts.
- Filter jaggery water through a strainer into a bowl to remove any impurities.
- Using the same strainer filter the tamarind pulp to the same bowl as jaggery.
- To this add neem flower, salt, pepper powder, and raw mangoes.
- Ugadi Pachadi is ready. Feel free to add more or less of these six ingredients to water and mix. Offer to God in form of naivedyam and serve this to your family and friends.
Some tips and substitute to make Ugadi Pachadi
- If you live outside India or if fresh neem flowers are unavailable where you stay, simply add dried neem leaves or any bitter-tasting ingredient like methi seeds (fenugreek) or methi powder.
- If you don't prefer adding raw mango chunks, you can grind it and add it along with tamarind water.
- Dry fruits, coconut chunks, and whole spices can be added to enhance the flavor of the drink if required.
- Instead of soaking tamarind in hot water, you can even use tamarind pulp if desired.
Some other recipes that you can prepare for Ugadi (Yugadi) and Gudi padwa festival
- Mango Rice or Mavinakayi Chitranna
- Mango Vermicelli kheer (Semiya Payasam)
- Ghee Rice
- Doodhpak or Rice Kheer
- Obbattu / Ubbati / Puran Poli
Stay tuned guys. Coming up next are some more coastal Karnataka (Udupi and Mangalore Konkani recipes) for Ugadi.
Detailed recipe for Ugadi Pachadi or Bevu Bella panakam
Recipe card
Ugadi Pachadi - Traditional Ugadi Recipes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Tamarind
- 3 tablespoon Jaggery
- 1 teaspoon Neem flower or Bevu
- Salt , to taste
- Black pepper powder , to taste
- 3 tablespoon Raw mango , chopped into pieces
- 1 ½ cups Water
Instructions
- There is no proportion for this recipe. Adjust all the spices to your taste 🙂 Feel free to add more or less of these six ingredients to water and mix.
- Soak the tamarind in ½ cup hot water till it softens.1 tablespoon Tamarind, 1 ½ cups Water
- Add jaggery to another 1 cup of water and stir till it melts.3 tablespoon Jaggery, 1 ½ cups Water
- Filter jaggery water through a strainer into a bowl to remove any impurities. Using the same strainer, filter the tamarind pulp to the same bowl as jaggery.
- To this add neem flower, salt, pepper powder, and raw mango chunks.1 teaspoon Neem flower, Salt, Black pepper powder, 3 tablespoon Raw mango
- Ugadi pachadi is ready. Offer this to God in form of naivedyam and serve your family and friends.
Notes
- If you live outside India or if fresh neem flowers are unavailable where you stay, simply add dried neem leaves or any bitter-tasting ingredient like methi seeds (fenugreek) or methi powder.
- If you don’t prefer adding raw mango chunks, you can grind it and add it along with tamarind water.
- Dry fruits, coconut chunks, and whole spices can be added to enhance the flavor of the drink if required.
- Instead of soaking tamarind in hot water, you can even use tamarind pulp if desired.
Nutrition
If you like this pachadi or panakam recipe,
Don't miss to check out some of my favorite and delicious Indian desserts and sweets (meetha or mithai) to try this festival season or any time of the year.
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Beth
This tea sounds amazing! There's something for every single tastebud and the message behind it is fantastic.
Holley
This is a great recipe to have on-hand for the New Year. It's easy to make and very meaningful. Thanks for sharing!
Elizabeth
Thanks for sharing the symbolism of the ingredients. Sounds so delish! Can't wait to make this!
Julia
This sounds delicious! I love the idea behind the different flavors!
Ben
This is really cool. I love the message almost as much as I love the flavor of this. I should drink it every day just to keep myself in the right headspace.
Chenee
I love the symbolism of this drink - what a great way to usher in a new year.