The festival of Onam brings together a kaleidoscope of colors and flavors from across God’s Own Country, culminating on the auspicious day of Thiruvonam. All single home serves elaborate magnificent feasts (Onam Sadhya), which conclude with exquisite payasam (Kerala dessert), ensuring that the message of oneness and hope is conveyed far and wide. It’s Onam Sadhya, a remarkable festival feast. It is the essence of Onam celebrations of the Malayali community at home and abroad. Onam Sadhya is a sign of the Malayali people’s contentment. Onam Sadhya has 24-28 dishes in a single meal. The preparation can be so comprehensive that a meal can include up to 64 words. The Onam Sadhya dishes are served in accordance, one by one. Even the age-old custom of doing a specific food in a particular part of a banana leaf is meticulously adhered to. The feasting starts with the Onam Sadhya items being offered to Lord Ganesha first. The feast proceeds with rasam (soup) and culminates with payasam (dessert). Uppari, sambar, aviyal, parippu, publishers, olan, and pickles, as the main meal, accompany boiled rice. Onam Sadhya is a traditional vegetarian multi-course meal rendered on a banana leaf with around 25 dishes.
1.Rasam
Every South Indian’s favorite comfort food is rasam. It is a popular Indian dish that is enjoyed all around the country. This Sadhya delicacy is made with tamarind, tomatoes, pepper, and lentils.
2.Upper
Upperi is an Indian snack that fries thin coconut oil plantain slices. While the chips are still frying in oil, they are seasoned with salted water. The snack is a Kerala specialty, notably during the Onam harvest festival, when these salty chips are continued to serve in a banana leaf as part of a vegetarian meal known as Sadhya.
3.Aviyal
Aviyal is a unique Kerala (South India) traditional food, and no Kerala feast (Sadhya) is complete without it. It is a thick mixture of mixed vegetables, curd, and coconut, tempered with coconut oil and curry leaves, and it is renowned for its unique flavors.
4.Parippu Curry
Kerala’s Paruppu Curry (Dal Curry) is a popular meal. It’s one of Onam Sadhya’s most popular dishes (Onam Sadhya menu). Including a spicy coconut, mixture elevates Kerala’s unique rendition of this meal. It’s frequently accompanied by rice and ghee. Onam Sadhya or any Kerala Sadhya/Feast is incomplete without Nadan Kerala Parippu Curry-Dal Curry. Parippu – Moong Dal/Lentil is cooked with grated coconut, spices, and a drizzle of ghee on top.
5.Pulissery
At the end of the meal, Pulissery or Moru Curry is presented in a traditional Kerala Sadhya or Onam Sadhya. Pulissery is an important meal for Onam Sadhya since it is one of the essential dishes for the Kerala-style feast known as Sadhya.
6.Olan
Olan is a classic and well-known Kerala dish. It is invariably prepared for various celebrations, notably for Onam Sadhya. Pumpkins, cowpeas, and coconut milk are used to make it. With the flavors of coconut, green chili, and curry leaves, this stew is a delicious side dish to serve with rice.
7.Inji Curry
Inji curry, a characteristic of Kerala Sadhya, is cooked with ginger, green chilies, tamarind, and jaggery. It has a spicy, sour, and sweet flavor. This recipe is a critical component of Onam Sadhya. Inji (ginger) curry is a flavourful side dish with sweetness and sourness.
8.Naranga Curry
Naranga curry is a pickle typically served during Onam in a traditional Kerala Sadhya. It’s made using curry Naranja / vadukapuli Tauranga, which resembles a vast lemon but is much sourer and juicier.When the bitterness has faded, our taste buds will be left with a beautifully balanced, sweet, and pleasant taste. Wild lime, also known as Vadakapuli or Curry Naranga in Malayalam, is the critical component in this pickle.
9.Erissery
Mathanga Erissery, or Pumpkin Erissery, is a traditional Kerala curry recipe served during the Vishu and Onam festivals as a Sadhya meal. This gluten-free, onion-free, garlic-free vegan curry is made with pumpkin, vanpayar, or red cowpeas and served as a side dish in coconut gravy.
10.Thoran
Cabbage Thoran, or just Thoran, is a typical dry rice stew in Kerala made with any vegetable of choice, grated coconut, shallots, cumin, and fresh or powdered chilies. Thoran is a gentle, mildly spiced stew letting the veggies’ flavors shine.
11.Kaalan
Kaalan is a famous Keralite dish with yogurt, coconut, and tuber vegetables, including yam and raw plantain. It’s part of the Sadhya, which is a traditional Kerala feast. Kaalan is typically made using Chena (Elephant Foot/Yam) and Pachakkaya (Raw Plantain) in a Kerala tradition.
12.Koottu Curry
Koottukari, known as Koottu curry, is a popular dish in Kerala’s “Sadhya” region. It’s a yellow curry with one or two vegetables, such as banana and coconut, with a spicy, sweet flavor. A thick curry composed of vegetables and beans is known as Kootu curry.
13.Pazham Pradhaman
Pazham Pradhaman is a Kerala Sadhya dessert delicacy offered during festivals. Pazham Pradhaman, as the name suggests, is made using Pazham / Banana, a popular and healthy Nenthrapazham / Ethapazham growing in Kerala.
14.Pappadam
When serving the intricate and delectable Onam Sadhya, crisp pappadam steals the show in the plantain leaf (feast). It’s crushed into hot rice, dal, and ghee, a great flavor contrast to the sweet payasam (dessert).
15.Vellarikka Kichadi
The cucumber is first boiled, then blended with a spice paste of coconut, cumin, and mustard, then tossed in yogurt in the Vellarikka Kichadi from Kerala, frequently appearing in the Onam Sadhya. After being cooked, the finely sliced cucumber takes on a different flavor and texture.
16.Mezhukkupuratti
Mezhukkupuratti is one of the most delicious dishes cooked during the Onam Sadhya in Kerala cuisine. Raw banana (Kaya), yam (Chena), carrot, and potato are among the vegetables used to make it.
17.Nendran Chips
Nendrangai chips (Ethakka Upperi) are a famous side dish in Kerala offered at Onam Sadhya. The chips are necessary for the Kerala Feast Meal (Onam Sadhya).
18.Ada Pradhaman
Ada Pradhaman is a rice ada pudding with jaggery and coconut milk traditionally offered as a dessert during Kerala’s Onam festival. Ada is made from ribbon-shaped dried rice flakes soaked in hot water and then simmered in jaggery and coconut milk. Onam Sadhya is complete with this traditional dessert (traditional meal). Various coconut milk extracts are commonly used in the Ada Pradhaman recipe. It has a smooth texture and a light flavor.
19.Paal Payasam
Paal Payasam, or comma Pachar, is a unique variety of Kerala Payasam cooked using Unakkalari (Payasam rice). As the Paal (milk) is in the shape of thick Paal Kurukiyathu, the delightful Paal Payasam is rich and creamy.
20.Matta Rice
Matta rice, also known as red rice, is high in nutrients due to its outer bran and, at the same time, the bran. When rice is cooked, the natural red color in the bran or hull leaches away, turning the rest of the rice a pale shade of red. Rosematta rice, Palakkadan Matta rice, Kerala Red rice, or Red parboiled rice are all names for Matta rice.
