1. THIRUVONAM18
September 15, 2013
Fit for
a kingA feast for the senses in every way, there is a reason why the
onasadhya is considered one of the most elaborate and grand
meals prepared by any civilisation or culture. By Jehan Nizar
bFlavours
W
hile the running joke
aimed at most newly-
married brides in
Kerala may well be something
to the effect of, “you’re only as
good as the avial recipe you bring
into your marital home,” there
is a degree of truth attached to
this deceptively light-hearted
statement. Malayalis take their
food very seriously and nothing
serves as a better display of
this than the onasadhya, which
is prepared on the final day of
Onam, Thiruvonam.
Derived from the Malayalam
word for banquet, the onasadhya
is one gastronomic affair that is
not for the faint-hearted. While
this spread traditionally featured
about 64 mandatory dishes that
needed to be served on three
banana leaves for each person,
conventions have given way to
practicality and the demands
of a more frenzied lifestyle. The
result? A still impressive feast
by any measure, with anywhere
between 24 to 28 dishes. Boiled
rice features as the stellar
mainstay while other dishes
such as parippu, sambar, rasam,
puliserry, avial and thoran are
collectively referred to as kootan
and are generally its more
flexible counterparts.
Fresher produce for better results
Seasoned hands in the kitchen
go to great lengths to justify how
the flavours of food are heavily
determined by the freshness of
produce and this is the secret
behind a good onasadhya. >
AD
Picture:Supplied

2. THIRUVONAM20
September 15, 2013
Being Kerala’s state
festival, people of all
communities
celebrate Onam with
equal joy.”
Thomas P.K.
Corporate Chef, Calicut Paragon
Sadhya diners are,
traditionally
speaking, meant
to abide by certain
protocols, such as
eating only with
the right hand, and
without cutlery.
Chef Prathap Kumar B.P. of
Tharavad Restaurant, Dubai,
echoes this sentiment and
reiterates that all dishes, barring
the famous pickles, must be
prepared on the morning of
the celebration as coconut is a
liberally used ingredient, which
spoils easily.
The many shades of the sadhya
The true beauty of the onasadhya
undoubtedly lies in the intrinsic
detail that goes into every aspect
of it, from the sheer quantity
and diversity of flavours that
are represented, to the elaborate
arrangement of the meal on
the leaf and the painstaking
compliance to the order in
which guests are served. On the
whole, the day can be seen as a
beautifully executed culinary ode
to vegetarians and while purists
might consider it tantamount
to sacrilege, the sadhya has over
the years undergone a dramatic
transformation to suit the tastes
of this religiously diverse state.
Homemaker Beena Satyajith
has an amused expression on her
face as she recounts instances
of guests she has invited over
politely asking whether they
could bring along portions of
dried beef and fried fish. However,
no amount of competition from
carnivorous delicacies can
prevent signature specialities
such as erisseri (made from yam
and raw bananas), olan (prepared
with ash gourd and pumpkin),
kalan (a buttermilk, sliced
plantain and yam creation) and
thoran (finely chopped vegetables
such as cabbage, beans or carrot)
from holding their own.
As for the inevitable aspect of
variations of the sadhya across
Kerala, Thomas P.K., Corporate
Chef, Calicut Paragon, says,
“Every family has its own way of
celebrating Onam. Traditionally,
what was made depended on the
availability of what was harvested
in the paddy fields. Being the state
festival of Kerala, people of all
communities celebrate the festival
with equal joy.
“Northern Kerala has its own
signature ginger-based side dish
called pulliyinji, while something
similar known as inji curry is
made down south. In central and
north Kerala they make erusseri
[a roasted coconut dish], known
as theeyal down south.”
In a nod to Kerala’s
withstanding joint family system,
the onasadhya is generally served
in the tharavaad, or communal
home, of every family. Each
dish is placed in an allocated
section of the leaf, so that its
tip is always at the left side of
the person who is going to eat
from it. Accompaniments such
as pappadams and bananas
are placed on the bottom left.
Sharakaravaratti is placed next
to this. The top left corner is
reserved for pickles. The kootan
components follow suit and rice
is served once the diner is seated.
As with other festivals,
Onam has dishes that evoke
memories. Chef Thomas counts
pazham nuruku (banana and
jaggery confection) as his
weakness, while kothu chakka
thoran (dried jackfruit) evokes
in Chef Kumar memories of his
grandmother.
Much has been made of the
payasams and prathamans served
on this day. With their decadent
variations of milk, coconut and
jaggery, it seems a fittingly sweet
ending to a rich dining legacy. b
Tharavad Restaurant, Fortune Plaza
Hotel, Al Ghusais
b 27 dishes, about Dh45
b 04 263 0764
Palm Grove Restaurant, Marco Polo
Hotel, Deira
b 25 dishes, about Dh45-50
b 04 272 0743
Calicut Paragon, Karama
b 28 dishes, Dh35 for dining at the
restaurant and Dh38 for takeaway
b 04 335 8700
Thattukada, Palm Beach Hotel,
Bur Dubai
b 25 dishes, about Dh40
b 04 393 1999
Kalavara, Nihal Hotel, Deira
b 30 dishes, about Dh50
b 04 295 7666
Kerala Kitchen, Karama
b 26 dishes, about Dh35-37
b 04 337 6406
Masala Bay, Discovery Gardens
b 26 dishes, about Dh28
b 04 447 5553
Where to feast this Onam
bFlavours
Picture:Supplied