THE ANCIENT TALE BEHIND POPULAR AYURVEDIC REMEDY

APPY Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, Cheti Chand and more in advance, dear readers. These regional New Years are celebrated in Chaitra, the first month of the Indian calendar. Similar festivals like Vishu, Putthandu, and Baisakhi will soon follow.

- RENUKA NARAYANAN

Each festival has its special dishes, and one of the most interesting is the medicinal neem-jaggery pachidi or chutney eaten on Ugadi and Gudi Padwa. Its roots lie in Ayurveda, where it serves as a seasonal detox and immunity booster. On a spiritual level, the bitterness of neem leaves and the sweetness of jaggery symbolise life's ups and downs. Known as bevubella in Kannada, bevu (neem) and bella (jaggery) are combined with other ingredients, such as raw mango, to make this unique chutney.

This seasonal remedy serves a similar purpose to the heavier medicinal compound known as lehiyam, eaten during Diwali to improve digestion after indulging in festival sweets and savouries and provide a seasonal tonic to safeguard health. Lehiyam is made from coriander, cumin, carom seeds, dried ginger, black peppercorns, jaggery and ghee. It is similar to the highly popular medicinal compound chyavanaprash found up North, consumed to boost health and speed up convalescence. And so begins an unforgettable, fascinating tale.