Panakam, majjiga and the drinks of Ugadi

Ugadi, the Telugu new year, falls in March or early April, just as the heat in Vizag begins in earnest. For the next few weeks, until Sri Rama Navami, the old summer drinks of Andhra come out in every home. We put them on our board for the season too.

Panakam is the drink of Rama Navami. Jaggery is dissolved in water and flavoured with crushed black pepper, cardamom and dry ginger, with a squeeze of lime. It is sweet, warm with spice and surprisingly cooling. Ours is made fresh twice a day with jaggery from Anakapalle, and costs ₹50 a glass. We give it away free at the counter on Rama Navami morning, as Srinivas’s mother used to at their house.

Majjiga, spiced buttermilk, is the everyday drink of the season. We whisk curd with water, salt, crushed ginger, green chilli, curry leaves and coriander, and temper it with a pinch of asafoetida. At ₹40 a glass it is the lightest drink on our menu. Neer more, as our Tamil customers call it, is the same thing.

For Ugadi itself we make a small cup of Ugadi pachadi, the festival chutney of six tastes: jaggery, tamarind, raw mango, neem flowers, salt and pepper. It is not a drink, but we hand a spoonful to every customer that day. Bring a steel bottle and we will fill it with panakam or majjiga for the price of the glass.