Bevu Bella Ugadi Pachadi Karnataka Special

Ugadi | Yugadi

Ugadi or yugadi is Kannada/Telugu New Year is the New Year’s Day for the people of Karnataka, Andhra, and Telangana. The New Year is celebrated in other states, too, under different names. In my Ugadi festive thali post, I mentioned that Yugadi means Yuga (age) + adi (beginning). The Ugadi day is the beginning of the new age/year.Along with several other delicacies, we also make this simple bevu bella, aka Ugadi pachadi.

Bevu bella

Bevu in kannada means neem flower, and bella is jaggery. This recipe varies from family to family, and this is how my mom makes it, and I am sharing the same here. The ingredients used in bevu bella symbolize different emotions/experiences – sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise. Having this Ugadi pachadi on New Year’s day signifies that we should accept all emotions and experiences equanimity.

Ingredients used and their significance

We add these six ingredients. Typically we take a small amount of these ingredients and mix it with ⅓ to ½ cup of water and offer it to God as neivediyam and have a tbsp of it after the pooja.

Watch me make bevu bella

PS – I have added ½ cup water but in the video, I have mentioned ¼ cup. It’s a typo. Add water to taste. We have a very small amount and there is no set measure.

How to make bevu bella

Heat a small pan or the tempering kadai, add the ¼ tsp neem flowers, and dry roast it for 45 to 60 seconds.Add all the ingredients and ¼ cup of water to a bowl and mix well. Ensure salt and jaggery have combined well. That’s it; the pachadi is ready.

Recipe notes

You can add finely chopped raw mangoes, but my mom usually grates them or pounds them to blend well in the pachadi.Use fresh neem flowers if you can source them. Instead of tamarind paste, you can also use a small piece of tamarind. Soak it in ¼ cup of water and extract the juice. Use that as the base liquid for the pachadi and add the other ingredients.

Explore other simple Ugadi-special dishes

While you can make an elaborate Ugadi feast, when time is pressing, I make these four dishes along with bisibelebath.

Loved this recipe?

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