What's On Your Banana Leaf? Breaking Down The

Onam Sadya

Quick Summary

Imagine a feast so epic it could rival a full-course Michelin-star restaurant experience! That’s how Onam Sadya feels. It hits different with its plant-based extravaganza served on a banana leaf set and arranged in a certain way. With anywhere from 24 to 64 dishes, it’s like the multiverse of food madness for vegetarians, with different flavours coming together to celebrate harvest vibes and community love. 

Deep Dive

Today's fast-paced world demands some slowing down, and festivals do the trick. Case in point, the Onam Sadya, which stands as a reminder of the value of slowing down and taking the time to prepare and share food with love and intention. The count of the dishes can range from 24 to a whopping 64, depending on the occasion and resources, but the spirit remains the same – to celebrate life's abundance and share it generously with others. Onam lasts for 10 days, and on each day, Sadya is served on fresh banana leaves for that festive touch.

What Makes The Onam Sadya?

The Onam Sadya stands as one of India's most elaborate feasts, with a traditional serving of over 25 dishes on a banana leaf. This isn't just about feeding the body; it's about nourishing the soul with traditions passed down through generations. The feast embodies the very essence of Kerala's agricultural prosperity, served during the harvest season when King Mahabali is believed to visit his beloved subjects. 

What makes this feast truly remarkable is its pure vegetarian nature. Traditionally, dishes in a Sadya do not contain onion or garlic, relying instead on the natural flavours of fresh vegetables, spices, and coconut. The most common ingredients in all the dishes are rice, vegetables, coconut, and coconut oil, as they are abundant in Kerala.

The Layout: How The Sadya Is Served

Every dish in the Sadya has a designated spot on the banana leaf, with the tapering end pointing to the eater’s left. The arrangement is intentional, designed to take the diner through a journey of tastes and textures:

1. Top Left Corner: Crunchy, salty snacks like banana chips and papadam begin the feast.

2. Middle Section: Starts with salt and pickles to stimulate the palate, followed by a sequence of vegetable curries and side dishes that vary in texture and spice.

3. Right Side: Yoghurt-based coolers and dairy accompaniments balance the meal, refreshing the palate.

4. End of the Meal: Ghee (clarified butter) and buttermilk are served to aid digestion and enrich flavours.

5. These placements are not random; each position is carefully chosen to create a balanced flavour that indulges diners through various tastes.

A Breakdown Of Key Sadya Dishes

1. Matta rice

This is the fundamental base of the Onam Sadya, embodying Kerala’s agricultural richness and the very essence of the feast. Typically, a generous helping of matta rice (also known as Kerala red rice) is served at the centre of the banana leaf. Matta rice is prized for its chewy and coarse texture, which holds up well against the variety of curries and side dishes. Traditionally, rice is eaten by hand, enabling the diner to intuitively blend the curries and condiments to their preferred balance.

2. Avial

Considered the crown jewel of the Sadya, Avial is a thick curry made by combining an assortment of vegetables – usually drumsticks, carrots, raw banana, beans, and yams – with freshly grated coconut, green chillies, and curry leaves. It’s cooked with coconut oil and tempered with mustard seeds, offering a creamy, slightly spicy dish that perfectly balances the sweetness of the vegetables with the coconut.

3. Olan

Olan is a simple yet comforting dish featuring ash gourd and black-eyed peas simmered in coconut milk. Its sweetness comes from the creamy coconut milk and the soft texture of the vegetables. Spiced minimally with salt and green chillies, olan serves as a soothing dish to spicier dishes.

4. Kalan

Another mild dish, kalan is a rich and creamy yoghurt-based curry often made with raw banana or yams. It uses black sesame seeds for a nuttiness, while the grated coconut adds sweetness. Traditionally, it’s cooked with ginger and garlic, but in the Sadya, the absence of garlic is maintained for the purity of flavour.

5. Erissery

Erissery is a uniquely Kerala preparation made with pumpkin and black-eyed peas cooked in a spiced coconut-based gravy. The pumpkin makes this a mildly sweet curry with a peppery heat and the earthiness of peas. To finish off the dish, a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves, and freshly grated coconut is added, for a comforting and flavourful dish. 

6. Thoran

This dish is made with vegetables, sans gravy, with finely chopped cabbage, beans, or carrots sautéed with grated coconut, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and green chillies. The coconut adds texture and sweetness, while the spices give it a mild spicy kick.

7. Mezhukkupuratti

This is a simple stir-fry of vegetables such as plantains or beans, seasoned lightly with turmeric, mustard seeds, and curry leaves. Unlike thoran, mezhukkupuratti has less coconut and focuses on the natural flavour of the vegetable, enhanced by a tempering of spices.

Yoghurt-Based Delicacies to Cool Off

1. Pachadi

Pachadi is a sweet and tangy yoghurt-based dish that combines the flavours of fruit or vegetables with spices. Common variants include pineapple pachadi and beetroot pachadi. The dish involves cooking the main ingredient with salt and turmeric before mixing it with spiced yoghurt and a coconut paste. It signifies balance in the Sadya, offsetting the spiciness of other curries with its cool, refreshing taste.

2. Kichadi

Often confused with Pachadi, Kichadi is another yoghurt-based side dish, but is milder and more cooling, typically prepared with cucumber or sometimes grapes or pomegranate seeds. It is lightly spiced with mustard seeds and curry leaves, offering a palate-cleansing effect that refreshes amidst the rich flavours of the Sadya.

3. Pulissery

Pulissery is a sweet and sour curry made from yoghurt and coconut, spiced with green chillies and mustard seeds. Its tanginess helps in digestion and balances the richness of the heavier dishes. Unlike kichadi and pachadi, pulissery is slightly more sour, often made with tamarind or raw mango to enhance its taste.

Accompaniments and Sides

The Sadya includes essential sides that complete the entire experience with pickles and preserves. There are also crunchy elements like papadam and other banana preparations. Then you have the dairy components with ghee and buttermilk, typically served near the end of the meal.

Pickles

Pickles are an essential part of the Sadya, adding tanginess and heat to the meal. Mango pickle, lime pickle, and Puli Inji (a tamarind and ginger pickle) are commonly served, believed to aid digestion.

Papadam and Banana Chips

Crispy, crunchy snacks such as papadam and banana chips provide textural contrast to the soft and saucy curries. Sharkara Upperi – banana chips coated with jaggery – is also part of the Sadya. 

Dairy

Plain curd and buttermilk (moru or sambharam) are served towards the end of the meal. These cool, probiotic-rich accompaniments soothe the palate and aid digestion after the rich Sadya feast.

Ghee

A drizzle of ghee over the rice and curries enriches the flavours and adds a luxurious, aromatic finish to the meal.

Finishing It All Off

No Sadya is complete without payasam, the traditional Kerala dessert served at the end of the feast. Payasam is a creamy, sweet pudding made from rice, lentils, jaggery or sugar, coconut milk, and sometimes milk. Onam Sadya might have one or more of these options of payasam with rice-based ones like ada pradhaman, palada pradhaman, paal payasam, arisi payasam, and also the Kerala classic moong dal payasam.

The Experience Of Savouring

Eating an Onam Sadya is unlike any other dining experience. Traditionally eaten with hands while seated cross-legged on the floor, it connects diners to both their food and their cultural roots. The meal progresses through distinct phases, beginning with bitter flavours to awaken the palate, shifting to spicy and savoury preparations, cooling down with yoghurt-based dishes, and ending with dessert, the payasam. All of this is washed down with fresh buttermilk, which does wonders for gut health.