Bevu Bella: How to prepare Ugadi Pachadi?

Bevu Bella, or Ugadi Neem leaf Pachadi, is an indispensable offering on Ugadhi, the Kannada and Telugu New Year day. This unique Bevu or Neem leaf preparation symbolically represents the different facets of life – sweet and bitter experiences of life.

Bevu Bella is just a simple mixture of fresh neem leaves and unprocessed broken jaggery. It is usually offered as a Prasad on the morning of Ugadi in many temples in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It is also prepared in almost all homes.

Ingredients

• Handful of fresh neem leaves.
• ¼ cup or three spoon broken jaggery

Preparation

• Clean the neem leaves
• Grind with a little water
• Add jaggery into the mixture.
• Some people to avoid the bitter taste of neem add banana, honey or grated coconut.

Bevu Bella is eaten on empty stomach on the Ugadi day.

Dry Bevu Bella

Ingredients

• Fresh tender neem leaves
• Jaggery proportionate to the number of neem leaves.

Preparation

• Mix tender leaves and jaggery and serve dry.

Another preparation during Ugadi is the Neem flower pachadi or Veppam poo pachadi.

Related

Ugadi 2008

How to observe Ugadi and Ugadi Panchanga Pooja