Let's enjoy cooking !!
It's that time of the year again when festivities and food
take over and everything else comes to a standstill. Onam, the 10-day harvest
festival that celebrates the homecoming of the mythical King Mahabali has a lot
to offer. Apart from fresh flower decorations and power-packed boat races, the
highlight of the festival is an elaborate meal called the Onam
Sadya. (
More:
All about Onam)
Sadya, which in Malayalam means 'banquet' is a sensational multi-course
vegetarian meal that features over 24 dishes on a banana leaf. It's
enjoyed without the help of cutlery and is usually eaten while sitting on the
floor. (
More:
Why people eat with their hands in Kerala)
The usual items on the menu include:
Kaaya varuthatha (banana chips),
chena
varuthatha (yam chips),
sarkara upperi (Jaggery coated banana
chips), mango pickle, lime pickle,
puli inji (tamarind & ginger
chutney),
kichadi (Gourd in mildly spiced yoghurt),
pachadi
(Pineapple in yoghurt) , olan ( ash gourd with black beans in a coconut milk
gravy), stir-fried vegetables with grated coconut, theeyal (mixed vegetable
gravy),
erissery (mashed beans and pumpkin with coconut gravy),
avial,
puliserry (yogurt based curry),
kootu curry (black chickpeas
curry),
sambar,
rasam, spicy buttermilk, bananas,
papad
and of course boiled rice.
Now how can you get your very own Onam meal? We dug into our treasure trove and
found 10 easy peasy recipes you can whip up at home to give your family their
very own customized Onam
Sadya.
This is a gorgeous and mildly-spiced mix of grated coconut
mixed with pumpkin, garlic and green chillis. It's tempered with a beautiful
blend of mustard seeds, chillis and crisp curry leaves.

A simple and popular side dish made
with ash gourd, pappaya or cucumber and a yogurt based gravy.

Thenga
Choru -
Recipe by Kishore D Reddy
Give the usual every-day rice a coconut-y spin with some tasty coconut rice.
Pachadi -
Recipe by Ritesh Venu
A light and smashing blend of coconut,
curd and pineapple combined with fiery chillies and spices.

Avial
-
Recipe by Joey Matthew
A delicious dish that uses potato, carrots, raw banana, drumstick, beans and a
small piece of raw mango. It's served on a bed of Kerala rice that you'd want
to dig into right away!
Paal Payasam
- Recipe by Kishore D Reddy
A good meal isn't complete without a
smashing dessert and
payasam gives you just that. A typical
sadya
has four different kinds of
payasam but why don't we start with just one
brilliant one.

Rasam -
Recipe
by Kishore D Reddy
With lots of pepper and tomatoes,
rasam with its thin consistency is a
real hit with any South-Indian meal. Try it out and you'll know why.
Kadala
Curry - Recipe by Niru Gupta
A curry packed with black chana
and smooth gravy, this one is a real winner!
Kalan Kerala
Curry - Recipe by Niru Gupta
An easy breezy curry prepared using buttermilk, mustard seeds, coconut and raw
bananas.
Ulli Theeyal-
Recipe by Chef Bala Subramanian
A Kerala delicacy made with shallots or tiny onions cooked in a roasted coconut
gravy.