The simple sheen of sogadu

January is lovely in Bengaluru in every way. Ribbons of mist lift the cover off steel-grey mornings, exposing dancing slabs of sunlight. The song of the cuckoos and the squawking of parakeets, the hissing of idli-bearing pressure cookers and the frothing up of coffees, all providing warmth against the nip in the air. And to top it all, the festival season kicks off with Sankranthi, decreeing an order of freshness about everything. Newly harvested grains, lentils, sugarcane, ash gourd, pumpkin, Indian jujube, mango fronds and coconuts fill the markets. Bright orange and yellow chrysanthemums carpet the gardens like little Suns unto their own merit. But the best draw is the starchy, almost tinny aroma — the sogadu — of avarekai, hyacinth beans.

Preparations for Sankranthi are typically on for a few weeks, as we hull mounds of roasted groundnuts, their papery skins swirling around us like fairy dust; chop de-skinned, dried coconuts into little squares; jaggery (bella) into tiny cubes; and mix it all up with roasted sesame seeds (yellu), for the yellu bella — a sort of healthy trail mix, packed in little sachets and shared with friends and family as a token of love, along with figurines of ducks and deer, bananas and pineapples, crafted by pouring molten sugar into wooden moulds.

The sights, smells and the overall essence of the harvest festival are delightful: Rangoli designs adorning front yards, depicting motifs of the harvest season, like pots, sugarcane plants, and the Sun. Mango fronds hung above doors, interspersed with flower garlands. The peppery heat and hints of hing in the khara pongal, and the sweet notes of raisin-speckled, cardamom-infused sweet pongal. The tang of jujubes, the juicy fibrousness of sugarcane chunks. The kaleidoscopic splendour of kites fluttering against spotless blue skies.

The simplicity of a thought like — yellu bella thindu, olle maathaadi — which translates, as a perfect metaphor for our times, as — eat yellu bella, and speak of good things.

In my home, the show goes on, and we are on the nose with most of everything, right from the rangoli to the mango fronds, the festive fare (we even use millets in our pongal, for a special, local flavour) and the yellu-bella mix. But the sweet sogadu of the avarekai has vanished like a soapy bubble, and everything is embellished beyond recognition — there are orange cows and green elephants in the sugar figurine lots, earthenware pots painted with colourful vines in which to take the yellu-bella mixture — now made and sold by condiment stores with psychedelic, spiky sugar balls. 

This heavy-duty commericialisation of everything is simply scoring big on manufacturing consent, and a fleeting sense of happiness.

There are over 500 tonnes of waste generated during this specific festival in Bengaluru alone, and once we wash our hands after the festive meal, we too forget about all the things we’re going to discard in the days to come.

Here are some tips to minimise waste and be mindful of how we consume all those calories during Sankranthi:

 Compost crushed sugarcane and fruit peels for your home or balcony garden. It takes a few weeks for that stuff to turn into soil, but it will be worth the wait.
 Distribute the goodies in reusable glass bottles or jars, and say no to plastic or use-and-throw ornamental dabbas.
 Collect the skins of shelled peanuts and avarekai and give them to your local dairy farm, to feed the cows.
 Turn the sugar balls and figurines into syrup to use in your beverages or cooking — that way, you not only stretch the shelf-life of the sweetener but also get into a more mindful approach of using the filtered product while controlling the quantity.

Here are three ways to re-purpose the yellu bella mixture, which tends to accumulate in the snack dabba and over time, turns rancid.

Gojju
Ingredients
• 2 sprigs of curry leaves
• 1 cup freshly grated coconut
• 1 red chilli
• 1/2 cup yellu-bella mixture
• 2 tablespoons rasam powder
• 3-4 tablespoons tamarind extract
• A pinch of hing/ asafoetida
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• Salt according to taste
• Water to grind
Method
Grind all the ingredients to a smooth consistency, adding water slowly, between pauses. Use it to make gojju once you fry the vegetables of your choice (like okra, capsicum, bitter gourd or pineapple), adding water and more salt as you go. Enjoy with hot rice and ghee!

Chana dal chutney
Ingredients
• 1 teaspoon groundnut oil
• 4 tablespoons chana dal
• 2 sprigs of curry leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon methi/ fenugreek seeds
• 4 red chillies
• 1/2 cup yellu-bella mixture
• 1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
• 1 tablespoon tamarind extract
• A pinch of hing/ asafoetida
• Salt according to taste
• Water to grind
Method
Fry all the ingredients in the oil, except yellu-bella, coconut, tamarind extract, asafoetida and salt. Once cooled, grind it all in the mixie to a coarse finish, adding water slowly, between pauses. It tastes great with hot rice and ghee.

Chutney pudi (powder)
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons chana dal
• 2 tablespoons urad dal
• 1 tablespoon moong dal
• 1 tablespoon tur dal
• 2 red chillies
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup yellu-bella mixture
• 1/2 teaspoon tamarind powder
• A pinch of hing/ asafoetida
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
Method
Dry roast all the ingredients except yellu-bella, tamarind powder, asafoetida and salt, in batches. Once cooled, grind it all in the mixie to a coarse finish. Cool, store in an airtight container, and enjoy with dosa/ idli.

(Ranjini is a communications professor, author, and podcaster, straddling many other worlds, in Bengaluru. She’s passionate about urban farming and sustainable living, and can mostly be found cooking and baking in her little kitchen, where, surrounded by heirloom coffee kettles and mismatched tea cups, she finds her chi.)