Kerala Tourism | Onasadhya

Onasadhya – delicious part of Onam festival

annual harvest festival, Inchicurry, Kalan, Kichchati, main Onasadhya menu dishes, Onam, Onasadhya, Onasadhya menu, Pappadam, Payasam, people of Kerala, Pulisseri, Sarkara Varatti

Onam is an annual harvest festival celebrated in Kerala. ‘Onasadhya’ is the grand feast served during the celebration of Onam in Kerala. It is served in Banana leafs and eaten with the hands without using any cutlery.

Onam sadya is a typical feast of the people of Kerala. There is a way of placing the leaf and an order of serving the dishes. Serving the onasadya is an art in itself. And eating the onasadya is an even bigger art. The traditional method of eating helps in digesting such a huge vegetarian fare.

The number of vegetarian delicacies in an Onasadya today ranges from five to 12. Serving begins from the bottom left half of the leaf. In some areas a pinch of salt is kept on the leaf but some people avoid it.

The main dish is plain boiled rice, served along with other dishes collectively called ’Kootan’ which include curries like Parippu Curry, Sambar, Rasam, and others like Kalan, Aviyal, Thoran, Olan, Pachadi, Kichadi, papadum,pazham (banana) or buttermilk, plantain chips. The traditional dessert called Payasam served at the end of the meal is of many kinds and usually three or more are served. The ‘Kootan’ are made with different vegetables and have different flavours; some are curries some are deep fried some pickled and some are porridges.

Now coming to the crux of the grand feast, i.e., the main Onasadhya menu dishes, those are as follows:

Pappadam, Banana, Pickle
These three are served first and foremost. Round shaped Pappadam are prepared from black grams and are fried in oil. Pickle are prepared well in advance of Onasadhya. Pickles are chiefly made from mango, lemon and ginger

Sarkara Varatti
These are banana chips fried and covered in jaggery.

Inchicurry & Thoran curry
Thoran is prepared by slicing beetroot and several other vegetables into very small pieces. Inchicurry is ginger curry specially prepared for Onam

Olan
Olan is prepared from sliced cucumber boiled in water with salt and no chillies. When properly boiled, some fresh coconut oil is poured. The dish is seasoned with flavour kariveppila (curry leaves).

Aviyal
This is kind of a mixed vegetable as all sorts of available vegetables are added to it and boiled in water with Tamarind powder and salt. Aviyal is flavoured with coconut oil and Kariveppila.

Kalan or Pulisseri
This is prepared from buttermilk. Ingredients consist of sliced plantains called nenthra-kaya and yams or chena. These are boiled in water with salt and chillies. It is flavoured with ground coconut and mustard seeds spluttered in oil. Some even add cucumber cubes to Kalan.

Kichchati
These are types of curry consisting chiefly of cucumber, mustard and sour butter milk or curds. In Kichchat, young and tender cucumber is added

Koottukari
This is a curry consisting of a variety of vegetables and some Bengal gram. It differs from Aviyal as it does not contain tamarind.

Payasam
Payasam is called ‘Pal Payasam’ in which rice is boiled with milk and sweetened with sugar.