Onam Sadya (Onam Feast)

Onam Sadya or Onam Sadhya or Onam Feast, a special feast lunch on Onam day served on banana leaf traditionally. It is very indispensable part of Thiruvonam (main day of Onam festival). The Onam sadya (feast) is a variety of pure vegetarian dishes. There will be usually rice and more than 10 side dishes and a sweet at the end. Sadya (Sadhya) means banquet in Malayalam.

 

During a traditional Onam Sadhya celebration people are seated cross-legged on mats. Food is eaten with the right hand, without cutlery. The fingers are cupped to form a ladle. The main dish is plain boiled rice, served along with other dishes collectively called Kootan which include curries like Parippu, Sambar, Rasam, Pulisseri and others like Kaalan, Avial, Thoran, Olan, Pachadi, Mango pickle, Naranga curry, as well as Papadum, Banana, plain Yogurt or Buttermilk, and plantain chips. The traditional dessert called Payasam served at the end of the meal. The 'Kootan' are made with different vegetables and have different flavours. The dishes are served on specific places on the banana leaf in specific order (For example, the pickles are served on the top left corner and the banana on the bottom left corner).

 

The feast is served on plantain leaves and consists of about 26 dishes (but not limited to). Dishes are,

 

Choru or Plain boiled rice (It is the main item in a sadhya. It is always the Kerala red rice (semi-polished brown) which is used for the Sadhya).

 

Sharkara Upperi (Jaggery Chips).

 

Kaaya Varuthathu (Banana Chips).

 

Pappadam (Made with lentil flour).

 

Puliyinchi or Inchi curry (A dish of paste like consistency made of ginger, tamarind, green chilies, and jaggery).

 

Mango Pickles or Manga curry.

 

Lemon Pickles or Naranga curry (both sweet and sour).

 

Kichadi (Made of yogurt and cucumber in raw or cooked form).

 

Pachadi (A sweet form of kichadi, but made with pineapple, grapes and coconut).

 

Thoran (A dish of sauted vegetables such as peas, green beans, raw jackfruit, carrots, or cabbage (usually) with grated coconut).

 

Mezhukkupuratti (Made of a vegitale like laddy finger, binjal)

 

Kaalan (Made of yogurt, coconut, and any one vegetable like 'nendran' plantain or a tuber-like yam. It is very thick and more sour).

 

Aviyal (Thick mixture of various vegetables, and coconut. It is seasoned with coconut oil and curry leaves).

 

Sambar (A thick gravy made of lentils, tamarind, vegetables like drumsticks, tomato, etc., and flavored with asafoetida).

 

Parippu (A thick dal curry).

 

Koottukari or Erissery (One or two vegetables like banana and coconut with a hot and sweet taste).

 

Rasam (A watery dish made of tamarind, tomatoes, and spices like black pepper, asafoetida, coriander, chili pepper, etc. It is very spicy in taste and aids in digestion).

 

Pulisseri (A waterway dish made of yogurt and pinapple with sweet taste).

 

Payasam (a sweet dish made of milk, sugar, jaggery and other traditional Indian savories, eaten either straight or mixed with a ripe small plantain. Type of Payasam are Palada Prathaman (made of flakes of cooked rice, milk, and sugar), Pazha Prathaman (made of cooked 'nendra' plantain in jaggery and coconut milk), Gothambu Prathaman (made of broken wheat), Parippu Prathaman (made of green gram), Chakka Prathaman(made of jackfruit, Kadala prathaman(made from black gram).

 

 

Shot from... A Onam Celebration Function, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) City, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) District, Kerala State, India.

 

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