The great festival is all at your door steps, the 10-day long harvest festival of Kerala is about to start with enthusiasm soaring high and people gearing up to feast on the massive Onasadhya meal. In my opinion, a typical Sadhya is not just a massive meal it is an emotion that will evidently make you gleam once you taste. For those who are new to the concept of Onam, Sadhya is the grand meal, spread across a banana leaf involving close to 24 traditional Malayali delicacies. The all-vegetarian feast is one of the star highlights of the Malayali harvest festival that also celebrates the legend homecoming of King Mababali.
While restaurants across the country usually offer traditional Sadhya meals during the festival, it is better that you brush up the basics and go all armed to relish the downpour of all the deliciousness. A typical Sadhya meal is a coming together of plain rice with a range of pickles, accompaniments (pachadis), curries (erissery, pulisherry, kalan, olan, avial, etc), sambar, rasam, dessert (payasam), crispies (papads) and snacks like jaggery coated bananas, banana chips among others.
There is way too much to love in a Sadhya feast. It greets your palate with all possible flavors – sweet, salty, sour, tangy and spicy. If you plan to head out this Onam to get a taste of an authentic Sadhya meal, we suggest you mustn’t miss out on relishing the following items:
Sharkara Varatti
This one is so addictive that you will end up asking for more. Bananas are sliced, deep fried and coated with jaggery.
Beetroot Pachadi
This may not be a dedicated part of all Sadhya meal; if present, it will shine in a distinct pink hue on your banana leaf. This accompaniment is nothing but a humble coming together of curd and beetroot along with a host of traditional spices.
Kaalan
This mildly spiced, soulful curry involves yams and raw bananas cooked in a buttermilk gravy with hints of coconut and subtle spices.
Pulisherry
This buttermilk-based curry offers the goodness of indigenous vegetables. You can also try Erisherry which is essentially made with white pumpkin. Get the recipe here.
Ada Pradhaman
No meal is complete without something sweet! Malayalis take their desserts seriously. The payasam (kheer-like preparations) are immensely satisfying and you are sure to head back for bowlfuls of these sweet treats. Ada Pradhaman is a type of payasam that is flavored with jaggery and is cooked with coconut milk, milk, nuts and steamed rice flakes.
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