Onam 2023: All You Need To Know About Onam Sadhya, Its Dishes And How They Are Made

Onam, the annual harvest festival celebrated in Kerala, will be marked on August 29 this year.

Onam is celebrated in the Chingam month of the traditional Malayalam calendar and commemorates the return of King Mahabali.

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The legend of Onam

According to legend, King Mahabali, believed to have ruled Kerala, will return to see his subjects every year during Onam.

The ten-day festival, which starts on Attham, culminates on the day of Thiruvonam.

Onam celebrations are marked by making floral carpets called pookalam and other festivities, including traditional games, music, and dance.

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Onam Sadhya

But for Malayalees, both in Kerala and across the world, Onam is incomplete without the Onam Sadhya.

Onam Sadhya, a feast, is a traditional three-course lunch served on the day of Thiruvonam.

It is arguably one of the most complex and diverse vegetarian meals you will ever come across, covering all six tastes ¨C salty, spicy, sweet, sour and bitter.

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Served on plantain leaf and eaten with the hand, an elaborate Onam Sadhya can have anywhere from a dozen to 30-40 vegetarian dishes, all the way from banana chips to pappad and payasam.

How Onam Sadhya is served

Even serving these dishes are done in a particular order - a pappad and banana are placed on the left side of the leaf, followed by banana chips and sarkkaravaratti on the lower left of the leaf.

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This is followed by pickles, inji puli, olan, kichadi, pachadi, avial and thoran. After all the side dishes are served, a scoop of rice is placed in the middle of the leaf.

The rice is accompanied by parippu (daal), sambar, rasam, and moru (buttermilk).

After rice, it is the turn of the sweet payasam, which is once again served in the middle of the leaf, sometimes accompanied by a pappad and banana.

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Here is a list of the most popular dishes served on Onam Sadhya:

Avial

Avial is arguably the most indispensable dish in any Onam Sadhya. Simply put, avial is a mix of nearly a dozen vegetables slow-cooked in a coconut and yoghurt sauce with a finishing of coconut oil and curry leaves.

Kalan

Kalan is a curd-based thick raw raw plantain and yam curry with a sour taste.

Erissery

Erissery is a pumpkin-based dish with grated coconut and spices as taste enhancers.

Thoran

Thoran, also known as upperi in some parts, is a vegetable dish cooked with grated coconut. The key vegetable ingredient can change from place to place and individual choices. This could include carrots, cabbage, beans, ladies' finger, bitter gourd, beetroot etc.

Olan

Olan is a dish prepared from white gourd or ash gourd, black-eyed peas, coconut milk and ginger seasoned with coconut oil.

Ulli theeyal

Ulli theeyal is made with shallot, a mixture of spices consisting of roasted coconut, coriander seeds, dried red chilli and fenugreek. All spices are ground to a paste and cooked in tamarind water with vegetables.

Pachadi

Pachadi is a sweet dish served at the Onam Sadhya and can be made from a range of vegetables and even pineapple.

Pulissery

Pulissery is a thick buttermilk curry with a coconut milk base and is an integral part of any Sadhy in Kerala.

Sambar

No Sadhya in Kerala can be complete without sambar, a mix of nearly a dozen vegetables.

Payasam

Payasam, or kheer as it is known in North India, can be described as the cherry on the cake of any Sadhya. Served at the end of the meal, Payasm is a sweet dish that can be made with a large variety of ingredients, from rice to banana and jackfruit. It is prepared in coconut or bovine milk and sweetened with sugar or jaggery.

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