A Mini Onam Sadhya

 

When I was in college, I encountered the concept of "fraud Mallu". That is, if you were raised outside Kerala, the motherland, you can't possibly claim to be Malayali. If you ask me, I think I've more than proved my Malayali-ness over the years. Consider Onam, Kerala's harvest festival. It is celebrated with a sadhya - a feast of vegetarian dishes traditionally served on a banana leaf. A sadhya can have more than a couple dozen dishes. The variety and number of dishes served is one of the defining characteristics of a sadhya. When the meal is done, you simply fold the banana leaf to signal that you can't possibly eat any more payasam, and that more refills might cause a tummy ache. 

Many sadhya dishes require chopping, stirring, and a good chunk of time in the company of the stove. Some are condiments and sides like pickles for a spicy kick, and banana chips or papadums for crunch. These are often store bought. 

Going up in a fervently carnivorous family, I never really appreciated Kerala sadhyas. Lest you think there's something to the fraud Mallu theory, I should remind you, dear reader, that Kerala is one of the biggest consumers of meat in the country. We are a lost people without our fish curry, mutton stew, chicken mappas, and beef fry. Had I been asked to choose my last meal, I can assure you that sambar and aviyal would not have made the shortlist.  

But I have come to appreciate and enjoy the variety of textures and tastes in a sadhya - tangy sambar, comforting parippu curry (dal/lentil curry), spicy rasam and pickles, mild olan flavored with coconut milk and nothing else, and a dizzying number of payasams, from the simple semiya/vermicilli payasam to more elaborate versions like ada pradhaman. 

In recent years, I have felt compelled to put together a mini-sadhya for Onam to mark the day.  This year, worn by the pandemic, I couldn't muster the enthusiasm to plan a sadhya. Some gentle nudging from friends over Whatsapp on the day changed my mind.

Here's a picture of this year's mini sadhya. Starting clockwise from the lower left side -- pappadam, parippu payasam, dates kalan, parippu curry (dal/lentil curry), sambar, matta rice, semiya payasam and cabbage thoran. I didn't miss the meat. Happy Onam!