It's always a delight when relatives come to visit, especially during the holidays. My grandma arrived a few days ago and just in time for Ugadi. She makes the journey every year even though she's aged quite a bit. It's always a delight to see her nonetheless.
I don't mean to sound childish but I always get excited when my grandma unpacks her things. She always comes bearing gifts...they are usually sweets and savories of all kinds.
I collected all the sweets together to show you guys. Most of the Indian sweets are made from rice and lentil flour.
The top plate shows all the sweets I grew up eating. Pootarekulu (also known as paper sweets) is a popular sweet from East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh. Powdered white sugar or brown sugar is stuffed in between the thin sheets made from rice flour.
Next to Pootarekulu is Pheni, which is shredded, flaky rice flour roasted in ghee. It is usually eaten with sugar and hot milk. We eat this from time to time for breakfast. We put a handful in a bowl, mix in sugar and pour hot milk on top. It is really yummy.
Next to pheni is cashew nut brittle made with cashews and jaggery (Indian brown sugar). Last but not least is Arisalu, which is behind the brittle. These thin, round patties are popular in Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and are made from rice flour, brown sugar, and ghee. Arisalu are one of my sister's favorite Indian sweets.
The bottom plate has an assortment of sweets made from lentil flour, rice flour, nuts and dates. Some of these sweets are Kaju Kattli, Milk peda, Mysore Pak, Bandar Laddu, Kajja, and Balushahi. Milk or doodh peda has become one of my favorite sweets. They pedas are heavenly and I can easily eat all of them in minutes.
I don't mean to sound childish but I always get excited when my grandma unpacks her things. She always comes bearing gifts...they are usually sweets and savories of all kinds.
I collected all the sweets together to show you guys. Most of the Indian sweets are made from rice and lentil flour.
The top plate shows all the sweets I grew up eating. Pootarekulu (also known as paper sweets) is a popular sweet from East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh. Powdered white sugar or brown sugar is stuffed in between the thin sheets made from rice flour.
Next to Pootarekulu is Pheni, which is shredded, flaky rice flour roasted in ghee. It is usually eaten with sugar and hot milk. We eat this from time to time for breakfast. We put a handful in a bowl, mix in sugar and pour hot milk on top. It is really yummy.
Next to pheni is cashew nut brittle made with cashews and jaggery (Indian brown sugar). Last but not least is Arisalu, which is behind the brittle. These thin, round patties are popular in Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and are made from rice flour, brown sugar, and ghee. Arisalu are one of my sister's favorite Indian sweets.
The bottom plate has an assortment of sweets made from lentil flour, rice flour, nuts and dates. Some of these sweets are Kaju Kattli, Milk peda, Mysore Pak, Bandar Laddu, Kajja, and Balushahi. Milk or doodh peda has become one of my favorite sweets. They pedas are heavenly and I can easily eat all of them in minutes.
The first thing we do on Ugadi is pray and eat Ugadi pachadi. I did just that before leaving for work. After work, I came straight home and indulged in more Ugadi specials like Halwa poori (a popular sweet from Telangana), and Green Mango Pulihora that my mom made.
Wishing you Happy Ugadi from our family to ours!!
