The Onam feast has to be had even if it means selling all your assets to do so - an old adage goes along these lines. That sums up the relevance of an Onasadya. How great Onam was remains directly proportional to the sadya one has had. The various dishes that comprise an Onasadya make it special. They being parippu, poppadom, ghee, sambar, kaalan, rasam, moru, aviyal, thoran, erissery, olan, kichadi, pachadi, kootu curry, pickles of ginger, lime and mango, plantain (nendran variety of banana) chips, sarkaravaratti, payasams of ada (large flat rice flakes), lentils, vermicelli and rice in milk. Of this, the number of payasams available might be anywhere from one to two or more.
Once Onasadya is ready, a lamp is lit in the south-west corner of the house called the kannimoola with an incense stick and the dishes are served on a tender banana leaf or thooshan ila for Ganapathy and Mahabali.
The first curry served, parippu, is made of green gram (moong dal) or pigeon peas (tuvar dal). The indispensable sambar has variations depending on the region where it is made. Aviyal is an important part of the sadya as well as an everyday favourite of most Malayalis. Kootu curry, where elephant foot yam, plantain and ash gourd make the main ingredients, is an essential presence in the regions of mid and north Kerala. Erissery too has elephant foot yam and plantain as the lead stars. The kichadi, made from cucumber, ash gourd and okra/ladies’ fingers, is important in the southern districts. The curry that adds sweetness to the sadya, pachadi, is made with pineapple, mango or pumpkin. The dry vegetable dish thoran can be prepared using cabbage, beans, string beans, elephant foot yam or plantain. Mezhukupuratti, a sauteed side of vegetables, is also included, using only plantain. In the northern region, curd-based kalan is largely preferred. Kurukku kalan and pulissery will be included in the sadya. The latter is made with pineapple, ripe plantain or ash gourd. It is tradition to have a helping of kalan with some rice at the end of a sadya. It is said that if kurukku kalan is poured directly into one’s palm, then it should not leak from between the fingers. The tangy taste of kalan is compensated by the mellow olan which has red cowpeas with pumpkin or ash gourd in a base of coconut milk.
Ada pradhaman rules the lot when it comes to various kinds of payasam. Over the years, coconut milk has been replaced by cow’s milk in its preparation. Palada or pal payasam is served second. Semiya or vermicelli and lentil payasam are two desserts that are a regular part of a sadya. Banana is mashed into the ada payasam in southern Kerala, while palada, pal payasam and semiya are had, either with a gram-based crepe called boli or kunjaladdu/boondi ladoo. The Southern regions don’t always include erissery, and the dilute kalan is preferred to pulissery in these areas. Kalan is an important dish in the northernmost region of Valluvanad. Sambar has scraped coconut added to it in the Malabar region of the state while there is also the pacha sambar. The main dishes here are kootu curry, olan, erissery and kalan. The winter melon-based pulincurry is a favourite in Thalassery. Kannur has the specialty of including non-vegetarian dishes in its sadya. It is said that all of one’s favourite foods should be eaten during Onam. Meat and seafood are a part of northern Kerala’s Onasadya.
