The most important part of Onam is the Sadya on Thiruonam day, which is relished by people cutting across communities and castes in the state.
And Kerala’s Onasadya is as diverse as the regions in the state. The Sadya is pure vegetarian in southern Kerala, but fish and chicken dishes are part of the cuisine in Malabar.
There, however, is near-unanimity across the board that the number of dishes should be as many more as possible for the Sadya.
According to experts, in southern Kerala, Onasadya can have anything from 12 to 25 vegetarian dishes and is served on plantain leaf.
Traditionally, the Sadya begins with food that is hard to digest, followed by some items that help in digestion. The semi-boiled rice from freshly harvested paddy is the main dish.
The side dishes include aviyal, parippu kari, sambar, rasam, thoran, puliyirinji, inchi curry, kalan, olan, theeyal, pachadi, kichadi, erissery, pappadam, moru curry, achaar, upperi, sharkkara varatti, pazham, three to four varieties of payasam and mambazha pradhaman.
But, in Malabar, for many, the Sadya is not complete without non-vegetarian items. “Fish fry, accompanied with any chicken dishes including chicken fry or chicken roast, is a must for Malabaris from Uthradam to Avittam along with all other vegetarian items of Sadya,” says Ambika, a home-maker.
“In many other parts of Malabar, especially in the areas including Kannur and Thalassery, chicken biriyani has overruled the Sadya; and biriyani with fish fry is the most preferable one,” says Umadevi, a native of Thalappu in Kannur.