Happy Ugadi : 2010

Ugadi marks the first day of the Telugu New Year. This year it was on the 16th of March. Every year I try to at least make the ugadi pacchadi (chutney) which includes 5 different flavors. The 5 flavors include, sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and tangy. So we use raw mango for sour, Jaggery (bellam) for sweet, neem flowers for bitter, chili for spicy and tamarind for tangy. This year I managed to get all the ingredients except for the neem flowers, which I usually substitute with neem powder which is easily available in Indian grocery stores. But not this year. This year they sold out all their neem powder, can you believe that?!! I know. So I made mine with four flavors, instead of five.

Anyways the reason I was told we make this special chutney was it represents the different situations we face in real life. Like sweet is supposed to represent happiness, bitter for sadness, spicy for anger. I do not remember what sour and tangy represented. I shall try to find out.

So here's to another fabulous and fun year. Cheers!!!