A Complete Guide to the Onam Sadhya: Exploring Every Dish from Avial to Payasam

Few meals celebrate abundance quite like an Onam sadhya. The elaborate vegetarian feast is one of the culinary highlights of Onam, Kerala's annual harvest festival. Served on a banana leaf and traditionally eaten by hand, it can bring together dozens of dishes in a single sitting, from crunchy banana chips and fiery pickles to vegetable ensembles, coconut-rich curries, rice, lentils and sweet payasam.

Onam is Kerala's most important festival and takes place during Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam calendar. Although rooted in Hindu tradition, it has grown into a cultural celebration observed across religious communities in Kerala and among Malayalis around the world.

This year's celebrations began yesterday and culminate with Thiruvonam, the most important day of the festival, on August 26. Celebrations can be seen at locations such as BurJuman Mall in Dubai, reflecting how the traditional south Indian festival is embraced globally.

Sadhya means “feast” in Malayalam, and there is no definitive number of dishes. A relatively simple version may contain fewer than 10, while elaborate celebrations can feature 30 or more. A sadhya is built around balance, bringing sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter and savoury flavours together with contrasting textures on a single banana leaf.

Sandeep Ail, the brand executive chef for Punjab Grill UAE, which is serving a 30-plus-item sadhya for Onam this year, helps break down the ingredients, flavours and roles of many of the dishes that make up the feast.

“The idea is not to reinvent the feast, but to understand what makes it special – the balance of flavours, the order in which the meal unfolds and, most importantly, the sense of abundance and togetherness that defines Onam,” he says.

The Crunchy Beginnings

• Pappadam: The familiar thin, crisp wafer is made from black gram flour, which can be crushed over rice, parippu and ghee to add crunch.
• Nendran chips or kaya varuthathu: Raw Nendran plantains are thinly sliced and fried in coconut oil for a salty crunch against softer dishes.
• Sharkara upperi: Chunkier plantain pieces are fried and coated in jaggery flavoured with dry ginger and cardamom for a crunchy, sweet, and gently spiced snack.

Pickles and Palate Sharpeners

• Kadu manga: A raw mango pickle bringing acidity and heat from green mango, chilli, mustard seeds and gingelly or sesame oil.
• Naranga achar: A lemon pickle made with spices, chilli and oil to add a sharp, salty and spicy kick.
• Inji puli or inji curry: A complex condiment combining ginger, tamarind and jaggery to create a sweet, sour, hot and pungent flavour profile.

Cooling and Tangy Dishes

• Pachadi: Combines vegetables or fruit with yoghurt and coconut; Chef Ali's version uses beetroot for a vivid magenta dish tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves.
• Pineapple pulissery: Pineapple cooked in a coconut and yoghurt gravy, offering sweetness, acidity, and gentle spice.

The Vegetable Heart of the Feast

• Avial: A mixture of vegetables such as yam, drumstick, pumpkin and raw plantain cooked with coconut and cumin, finished with coconut oil and curry leaves.
• Thoran: A dry vegetable medley made with grated coconut, featuring ingredients like amaranth leaves, cabbage, or beans.
• Olan: Ash gourd and cowpeas simmered in coconut milk with minimal spice for a mild, creamy counterpoint.
• Kalan: Yam and raw plantain cooked in a thick yoghurt and coconut gravy seasoned with black pepper.
• Erissery: Pumpkin and cowpeas cooked with coconut and topped with toasted coconut for a nuttier flavour and texture.
• Kootu curry: A substantial preparation combining black chickpeas and raw jackfruit (chakka) in a roasted coconut gravy.
• Theeyal: Features deeply roasted coconut giving the curry a dark colour and intense flavor, commonly made with drumstick pods and shallots.

Rice and Accompaniments

At the centre of the leaf is choru, or rice. Kerala matta rice is distinctive for its plump reddish grains and nutty flavour. It is accompanied by parippu (a mild moong dal preparation with coconut and cumin), sambar (a heavier curry combining lentils, tamarind, vegetables and spices), rasam (a sharper tamarind-based broth), and moru (spiced buttermilk).

And Finally, Payasam

A feast this extensive features multiple desserts. Ada pradhaman uses rice-flour ada cooked with jaggery and coconut milk. Other varieties may use milk, rice, vermicelli, lentils, or fruit. Punjab Grill's spread includes contemporary touches like tender coconut payasam, pal payasam ice cream, and a jackfruit and tender coconut pudding, often accompanied by a ripe Nendran banana.

How Do You Eat an Onam Sadhya?

Sadhya is traditionally eaten with the right hand, with diners mixing small quantities of the various preparations with rice as they progress through the meal. Rice is eaten first with parippu and ghee, followed by sambar and then rasam, while vegetable dishes and pickles allow each mouthful to be adjusted between creamy, sour, spicy, sweet and crunchy before moru and payasam conclude the meal.