Onam Sadya Thali – a rich and royal feast, an insanely delicious thali, nobody can say “No” to. With a wide variety of dishes loaded with veggies and coconut, it is a must-try Thali.
The Onam sadya dishes vary region-wise within Kerala. I did not follow any specific region and prepared the ones that my family loves instead. Check out the post for the individual recipes and how I prepared them.
Onam Sadya Thali
I always wanted to prepare an elaborate Onam sadya. I know it is doable but not quite easy though. When Valli announced the March themes and when I saw “Thali” in that, I made up my mind to prepare the sadya feast. My in-laws are here and MIL was excited too.
So last week, MIL and I decided to cook the feast. She helped me with chopping all the veggies and made her signature Avial and took care of Rhino. I made the rest and clicked all the pictures without a hurry. That’s a big thing these days. :-)
Onam Festival
We all know that Onam is the annual Hindu festival celebrated in Kerala. The festival commemorates the Vamana avatar of Lord Vishnu and the homecoming of the emperor Mahabali. Mahabali is the grandson of Kind Prahalada. King Mahabali, who is also a devotee of Lord Vishnu comes to powder by defeating the Devas.
When they approached Lord Vishnu for help, Vishnu decides to test Mahabali’s devotion instead of raising the weapon against him to get the lands back for Devas.
Vishnu takes the avatar of a dwarf boy, Vamana, and comes to King Bali. When the King does yajna (homa), Vamana approaches him and asks for property right over a piece of land that measures “three paces”. Mahabali agrees. Vamana grew big and covers the entire land ruled by King Bali in just two paces leaving him with nothing.
Finally, the king offers himself for the third pace. Lord Vishnu reveals himself and grants him a boon that he can visit the land he ruled every year. This revisit of King Mahabali marks the festival of Onam, and this delicious vegetarian feast called Onam Sadya celebrates the last day of his stay.
Ona Sadya
Ona Sadya is traditionally prepared with seasonal veggies and it mainly includes Yam, Raw Plantain, Ash gourd, Pumpkin, Cucumbers, Nendram banana variety, etc. I prepared everything except one item – upperi. Upperi is chips that can either sweet or salty.
The popular one is Sarkara Upperi which is nendram chips with jaggery. I got the nendram only at the last moment so I skipped making upperi with it. So I served it as is in the Thali instead. :-)
I have to post quite a few from my Onam Sadya Thali, Kerala Sadya Recipes list, so stay tuned for the updates. And today as part of the Thali, I posted the Beetroot Kichadi recipe. :-) The other recipes that are on my blog are linked below.
Onam Sadya Thali 1st Group
- Ada Pradhaman – A delicious coconut milk kheer prepared with jaggery and rice noodles called Ada.
- Matta Rice with Ghee – An earthy red parboiled rice native to Kerala.
- Kerala Style Tomato Rasam – A bit spicy but a comforting rasam with garlic, pepper, and tomato flavor.
- Cabbage Thoran – Kerala style cabbage stir fry with coconut. I prepared it like my Jackfruit seed thoran but without shallots.
- Olan – Kerala Sadya special recipe Olan – the rich, mild and creamy coconut milk stew with the goodness of black-eyed peas/cowpeas, red and white pumpkin.
- Eriserry – A medley of yam and plantain in coconut and pepper gravy. There are different eriserry varieties. The red pumpkin one is quite popular. But this yam and plantain version is equally popular as well which is more like Kalan but not Kalan. :-)
Onam Sadya Thali 2nd Group
- Avial – Yet another medley of vegetables in a simple coconut yogurt gravy.
- Beetroot Kichadi – A vibrant, healthy, and easy to make Kerala style Kichadi / Mildly sweet yogurt relish with beets.
- Cucumber Pachadi – A cool cucumber relish with mustard seed flavor.
- Theeyal – Usually, Sambar is prepared during the feast. But theeyal is also popular in some parts of Kerala. So I went with this delicious shallots theeyal.
Onam Sadya Thali 3rd Group
- Kalan – Kalan is prepared with yam or plantain or with both. Delicious gravy simmered in the coconut-yogurt sauce.
- Puli Milagai – This version of puli milagai might not be an authentic one that they prepare in Kerala. But it is adapted from the puli inji recipe. I learned this from my mom and ours usually has more chilies than ginger.
- Parippu Curry – Kerala style moong dal tadka with coconut and shallots.
- Pacha Manga Oorugai / Instant Mango Pickle – Instant cut mango pickle
- Sambharam / Spiced Buttermilk – seasoned buttermilk with the ginger and curry leaves
- Pappadam
- Nendram banana
Onam Sadya Recipe Roundup-
One more thali to come. Keep guessing until tomorrow. :-)
Enjoying Onam Sadya Thali? You’ll love these, too:
- Brinji Rice | Instant Pot Vegetable Brinji Rice
- Ulutham Paruppu Sadham | Black Urad Dal Pulav
- Coconut Water Kheer | Elaneer Payasam
- Thalassery Veg Biryani | Malabar Biryani
- Vegan Red Kidney Beans Curry | Konkani Style Rajma Curry
P.S. Sending this to Blogging Marathon #86. Check out the recipes shared by the other bloggers here.
Nice Recipe
Thanks
What an elaborate spread!! Absolutely divine! Cant take off eyes from your drool-worthy pics!
Thanks pa.
Wow vidhya what a spread!!! Totally mahabali!! I would love to enjoy a sadhya meal, but not lucky yet!!!
Just let me know when you are coming. Will prepare it for sure. Thank you. :-)
Onam is one of my favorite festivals and I miss the banana leaf sadyas we have back home, though I do make a sadya every year here. Everything looks delicious. Btw, despite its religious connotations, Onam is the one of the festivals that is celebrated by everyone in Kerala, no matter what their religious faith.
Very true. I read about that as well. :-) Thanks Jayashree.
What a colorful and mouthwatering spread, Vidya. Drooling here. :)
Thanks a lot, Suma.
sadhya is always a major weakness :D
:-) :-) I can clearly understand why…
Haha yea ;) hey, if you have the time, do give my blog a read :D
haha :D do check out my blog sometime :D
Sure. Will do. Thanks
Thank you :)
You are rocking with your amazing thalis Srividhya. I only wish to make Onam Sadya but don’t know if that day would ever come.
Thanks much Sapana. Sure you can definitely do it. :-)
Such an elaborate spread. I am surely it must have taken a lot of effort on your part to prepare everything! kudos!
Thanks, Jyoti. :-) MIL did help with few dishes.
Omg, what a lovely array of delightful dishes, Cant take my eyes from your spread Vidhya. All those foods are seriously tempting and prefect to enjoy them without any fuss. Kudos to you to come up with loads of delicious sadya dishes.
Thanks a ton, Priya.
Love this to the core.. Kerala food is always a bliss.. Last onam i cooked and clicked a sadhya .. Looking forward for next onam .. Visual treat!!
Bliss is the word. I agree :-) Will go check out your Thali as well da.
Sadya ! One meal I love ! I can see all the effort going in there . The amount of hard work . Absolutely astonishing and commendable Vidhya .
I still remember my daughter helping me with the preparation of the Sadya I prepared , it was tough for a North Indian to make these new dishes , but we all loved the meal . Olan was one of the high rankers .
I love Olan too. :-) Thanks much for your kind and appreciating words Vaishali.
Wow, drooling over the spread. The writeup about onam sadya refreshed my memory. That plate is so cool and a good one to use when one can’t find the fresh leaf.
Thanks a lot, Usha. Yeah, I was looking for leaf shaped plate itself but found only this. But no complaints though.
omg am awestruck vidya :) hats off to your efforts, you have made an inviting elaborate thali there .. I make a point to make ona sadya every onam at home but never got a chance to try them with traditional matta rice .. This spread is a virtual treat for a thali lover like me .. Your beetroot kichadi looks so simply delicious .. Kudos the efforts and a droolworthy thali :)
Thanks a lot for your appreciating words Manjula.
OMG! Such a wonderful spread. Love the tray resembling the banana leaf. I am already full :)
Thanks, Harini. I couldn’t get the fresh ones here.
I love Sadya dishes and drooling over this spread you got here!..If you plan well ahead, this is quite easy to assemble right..so satisfying in the end!
Agree, Valli. Planning is the key here and that satisfaction is immense. :-) Thanks much
Delicious!!
Thanks Anu.