Onam Sadya 2022- Happiness Of Harvest On Your Plate

Packed with happiness, excitement and enjoyment, Kerala’s very onw harvest festival Onam marks the return of King Mahabali. This year the the ten-day long festival began on August 30 and ends on September 8 and the last days is most important. Back in Kerala, early morning, every household get’s ready to prepare a lavish feast called the Sadya which is nothing less than a gastronomic extravaganza. 

This year I was lucky enough to dig into the goodness of Sadya at  Savya Rasa at DLF Avenue Mall, Delhi. Chef Sheik Mohideen, Brand Chef Savya Rasa added saying “We have sourced the our ingredients and spices directly from the region and also arrangements have been made to get the cooks from Kerala to be a part of our kitchen team for the Sadhya”. The Onasadhya refers to the Sadya served on the Thiruvonam day, the most auspicious of the four days during the festival. Not to miss that in a Sadya in a Sadya rice is served only after all the side dishes and savouries have been served on the banana leaf. Also the fact that each dish has its own placement 

The Onam Sadhya prepared here included an array of traditional dishes such as Avial – vegetables cooked with coarsely ground coconut and yoghurt, Erussery – pumpkins and red beans cooked with coconut, Carrot, Choru – Kerala Red boiled rice, Olan (ash gourd with beans in a thick coconut milk gravy), Theeyal ( a mild vix veg gravy), Cabbage Thoran – cooked dry with ground coconut and much more. Ending on a sweet note with a relishing yet traditional favorite, Ada Prasdhman that is made with flattened rice, jaggery and coconut milk custard, Paal Payasam (South Indian style Rice Payasam made with only four ingredients) , Kichadi (gourd in yougurt curry ), Pachadi (pineapple in yogurt). Served alongside a few refreshing beverages such as Kokam sharbat.

The plate was surely more than a meal or even a feast. The whole plate is carefully designed in a scientific way by the ancestors which sees a perfect blend of balanced and nutritious meal that the sees all the nutrients that the body.