In Kerala, Onam is a festival to commemorate the homecoming of the mythical King Mahabali. The 10-day harvest festival ends on 8th September. Flower carpets called Pookalam, banquet lunches, boat races, Puli Kali, and the Kaikottikkali dance are major attractions down south, but the highlight is the Onam Sadya, an elaborate meal. A multi course vegetarian meal featuring 24 dishes on a banana leaf forms the Onam Sadya.
Kaaya varuthatha (banana chips), chena varuthatha (yam chips), sarkara upperi (Jaggery coated banana chips), mango pickle, lime pickle, puli inji (tamarind & ginger chutney), kichadi (Gourd in mildly spiced yoghurt), pachadi (Pineapple in yoghurt) , olan ( ash gourd with black beans in a coconut milk gravy), stir-fried vegetables with grated coconut, theeyal (mixed vegetable gravy), erissery (mashed beans and pumpkin with coconut gravy), avial, puliserry (yogurt based curry), kootu curry (black chickpeas curry), sambar, rasam, spicy buttermilk, bananas, papad and boiled rice are the usual items.
Here are a few recipes that you can easily try at home and prepare your own Sadya.
Olan recipe by By Chef Vijayakumar, The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi
Ingredients
For Pressure Cooking Cowpeas
⅓ cup cowpeas (red lobia)
1.5 cups water for pressure cooking
¼ teaspoon salt for pressure cooking
For Making Olan
300 grams ash gourd or 2 cups chopped ash gourd (white pumpkin or kumbalanga)
7 to 8 curry leaves
3 to 4 green chillies – slit
salt as required
¾ to 1 cup water for cooking ash gourd
1 cup Coconut Milk (Thick)
12 to 14 curry leaves
2 to 3 teaspoons coconut oil
Preparation
Rinse and soak ⅓ cup red cowpeas (red lobia) overnight.
Next day drain all the water and rinse the cowpeas again. Drain the extra water.
Now add the soaked cowpeas in a 2 litre pressure cooker. Also add ¼ teaspoon salt.
Add 1.5 cups water and pressure cook on medium flame for 3 to 4 whistles or 8 to 9 minutes till the cowpeas are tender and cooked well.
Once the pressure settles down, open the lid and check if the cowpeas are cooked well. Keep aside.
Rinse and then peel 300 grams ash gourd. Chop them in medium cubes. discard the seeds and pith. You will need 2 cups of chopped ash gourd.
Cooking Ash Gourd
In a pan, take the chopped ash gourd. Also add 7 to 8 curry leaves and 3 to 4 green chillies (salt). Season with salt as per taste.
Now add ¾ to 1 cup water. Instead of water you can also use thin coconut milk.
Cover the pan and on a low to medium flame simmer till the ash gourd is cooked.
In between do check when the ash gourd is cooking and if required you can add some more water.
The ash gourd has to be cooked till its tender.
There will be some water remaining in the pan and its fine. But do make sure that its not a lot of water.
Making Olan
Now add the cooked cowpeas. Do not add the stock. Just add the cowpeas.
Add 1 cup thick coconut milk. Mix very well.
On a low flame gently heat olan curry for 4 to 5 minutes. Do not boil.
Switch off the flame and then add 12 to 14 curry leaves.
Also add 2 to 3 teaspoons of coconut oil.
Mix well. cover and let the flavors infuse for 6 to 8 minutes.
Serve olan with steamed rice.
Kalan by Chef Deepu Joseph, Sous chef, Conrad Bengaluru
Ingredients
250gms Yam
200 Gram
10 Gram Pepper Powder
8 gms Turmeric Powder
250ml Curd
8 gms Curry leaves
Salt to taste
For grinding
150 gms Grated Coconut
8 gms Green Chili
6 gms Cumin Seeds
For tempering
50 ml Coconut Oil
8 gms Mustard seeds
6 gmsRed Chili
7 gms Curry leaves
Preparation
Wash and chop the yam and raw banana into cubes and keep it aside.
In a pan add the chopped vegetables along with pepper powder and turmeric powder and allow it to cook till the vegetable are soft but not too mushy.
Meanwhile add the grated coconut, green chili and cumin seeds to grind it nicely. Add curd and again grind it to a smooth paste.
Take the smooth ground pate aside. When the vegetables are fully cooked, add salt and chopped curry leaves, to this add curd and mix well and allow it to boil for 5 minutes.
Then add the ground coconut paste and again stir well and when the kalan starts to boil switch off the flame.
In a separate pan , add coconut oil, when the oil is hot add mustard seeds and when the mustard seeds starts to sputter , add whole red chilles and sauté it for few seconds. Finally add curry leaves and saute it for another couple of second and then remove the seasoned ingredients and add it to the kalan. Serve it with rice.
Avial recipe
Ingredients
Veggies
1 cup ash gourd (white pumpkin, winter melon, petha)
1 cup pumpkin
1 cup drumsticks or 1 to 2 drumsticks (moringa pods, sahjan ki phalli)
1 cup elephant foot yam (suran)
1 cup mangalore cucumber (field marrow, madras cucumber)
1 cup plantain (raw unripe banana)
½ cup french beans (green beans)
For Coconut Paste
1 cup fresh grated coconut
2 to 3 green chilies
1 teaspoon cumin
⅓ to ½ cup water, for grinding
Other Ingredients
1 cup water, for cooking veggies
1 cup Curd (yogurt), beaten
12 to 15 curry leaves
1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil
Preparation
Firstly, rinse all the veggies with fresh water. Then drain all the water.
Then peel and chop them in medium to long thick sticks or batons. Keep aside.
For chopped unripe banana, keep them immersed in water so that they do not darken.
Beat 1 cup fresh curd with wired whisk and keep aside.
Making Coconut Paste
In a grinder take 1 cup grated coconut, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and 2 to 3 green chilies (chopped).
Add ⅓ to ½ cup water and grind to a coarse paste. Keep this coconut paste aside.
Cooking Vegetables
Take the vegetables which take a longer time to cook in a pan or pot. I have added carrots, drumsticks and green beans (french beans) first.
If the drumsticks are very tender then add them later with veggies that take less time to cook. I added at this step as I had drumsticks which take a longer time to cook.
Sprinkle ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and salt as per taste.
Add 1 cup water and stir well.
Cover the pan and keep it on a stove top on medium-low to medium flame.
Simmer till the vegetables are half cooked.
Then add the remaining vegetables which take less time to cook. At this step I have added plantain, mangalore cucumber (field marrow), ash gourd and pumpkin.
Mix it with the remaining half cooked vegetables.
Cover and continue to cook on medium-low to medium flame.
In between do check and if the water dries, you can always add more water.
Simmer till the vegetables are almost cooked.
Making Avial
Add the ground coconut paste.
Mix gently but well.
Let the mixture simmer for some 5 to 7 minutes or till the veggies are completely cooked. They should hold shape. So do not cook them too much. If the mixture becomes dry, then add some water.
When all the veggies are cooked and softened, then reduce the flame to a low. Add the whisked curd.
Mix gently. And simmer for a minute and switch off the flame.
Add 1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil.
Also add 12 to 15 curry leaves. Mix well. Then cover and let the flavors infuse for 5 minutes.
Serve avial with steamed rice, kerala sambar, pickle and some papadums. It makes for a healthy, filling and satisfying lunch or dinner.
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