Happy Ugadi! Ugadi is celebrated as the beginning of a new year in India (but through different names). In Bangalore, we start this festival by eating neem and jaggery. Neem denotes the bitterness we face in life, and the jaggery represents all the sweet things of life. By eating the neem and jaggery together, it is a symbol of promising ourselves to face the bitterness and sweetness of life with confidence.
In Mangalore, we celebrate this festival by savouring a kadlebele (Bengal gram or chanadal) and gerubeeja (raw cashew) Payasa. It is a delicious dessert which is made more delightful because of the cashew nuts which are present in every spoonful.
How do we prepare this:
Ingredients:
Chana dal/Split Bengal gram – 1 cup
Whole Cashew – 1/2cup (halved)
Coconut milk – 1 tetra pack
Jaggery – 1 ½ block (used Organic jaggery blocks)
Cardamom powder – ½ tsp.
Salt – ½ tsp.
Method:
-Wash chana dal and cashew kernels (usually we use raw young cashew, here I have used regular kernels)
-Cook dal and cashew by putting sufficient water till it is perfectly cooked. Dal should be well cooked and easily crushed. Doneness is very important, after adding jaggery, dal becomes little stiff and firm.
-Now add salt and jaggery and boil till you get a nice aroma and till the raw smell of jaggery disappears.
– When it is done, add one tetra pack of coconut milk and give one boil. That is it. Garnish with powdered cardamom and enjoy.
Note: –
- If you are using fresh coconut for extracting milk, take grated coconut (from one coconut), add one cup of water and grind, and extract milk. (This is a thick extract and should be added at the end)
- Once again add a little water and grind, to take out thin milk and you can add this while boiling jaggery.
- If you are using regular jaggery ,at first, it self-boil this with a little water ,make a liquid and sieve this before adding to the kheer, to remove impurities.
