Onam Sadhya | Onam Sadya Recipes

Onam sadya also known as Onam sadhya or Kerala Onam lunch which is an elaborate vegetarian banana leaf lunch menu prepared on the special occasion of Onam in all over Kerala. The elaborate vegetarian lunch includes variety of dishes including mezhukkupuratti, thoran, Avial, pachadi, puli inji, papadum, pradhaman, palaada payasam and many more. In this blog post, I have shared a simple Onam lunch menu and an elaborate feast that you can prepare for Onam festival with tips and tricks including meal prep options. Learn how to make Kerala Onam sadhya with step by step pictures and video with detailed instructions. 

Onam Sadya Recipes

Being from Kanyakumari, Kerala is neighbouring state to us. We have lots of influence from Kerala mainly in our food and culture. Onam is one festival which we celebrate every year. Amma usually makes some snacks like appam, medu vada and vegetarian lunch spread. But ever since I got married, I make elaborate Onam sadya every year without failure. 

Jump to:

• What is Onam Festival?
• About Onam Sadya (Sadhya)
• Video for Onam Sadya Recipes(24 Dishes)
• Must Make Dishes in Onam Sadya
• How to Meal Prep for Onam Sadya in Advance
• How to Cook Onam Sadya (Chill & Relax)
• Collection of Onam Sadhya (Sadya) Recipes
• Expert Tips
• FAQ
• 📖 Recipe Card

In this blog post, I have shared details about 2 Onam lunch menu that I shared in the previous year. A simple lunch menu with minimum dishes and an elaborate vegetarian feast with 24 dishes. Thinking of Onam lunch menu is overwhelming for you, no worries. I have shared all my tips, tricks, and meal prep ideas for you to make your Onam sadhya preparation easy and stress free. 

What is Onam Festival?

Onam is one of Kerala's most awaited annual festivals and is celebrated so elaborately. This is a 10-day long fiesta and is celebrated during the harvest period of late August and early September to celebrate the homecoming of Kerala's mythical king Mahabali.

About Onam Sadya (Sadhya)

Sadhya also known as Onam sadya or Kerala lunch menu is a vegetarian feast of Kerala which is important to all Malayalis. It consists of variety of traditional vegetarian dishes usually served on a banana leaf in Kerala as lunch. It means banquet in Malayalam. Sadhya is typically served as a traditional dish for Onam, the state festival of Kerala.

The main dish is plain boiled red rice, served along with other dishes collectively called Kootu which include curries like parippu, sambar, rasam, pulisseri and other like kaalan, avial, thoran, olan, pachadi, kichadi, koottukari, erissery, mango pickle, pulinji, naranga achaar (lime pickle), as well as papadam, plantain chips, sharkara upperi, banana, plain curd and buttermilk. 

The buttermilk is typically served near the end of the meal. The traditional dessert called payasam served at the end of the meal is of many kinds and usually three or more are served. Some of the varieties are Paal Ada, Ada Pradhaman, Paripu pradhaman, chakka pradhaman, etc.

The dishes are served on specific places on the banana leaf in specific order. For example, the pickles are served on the top left corner and the banana on the bottom left corner, which helps the waiters to easily identify and decide on offering additional servings. The most common ingredients in all the dishes are rice, vegetables, coconut and coconut oil as they are abundant in Kerala. Coconut milk is used in some dishes and coconut oil is used for frying and also as an ingredient in others.

Video for Onam Sadya Recipes(24 Dishes)

Must Make Dishes in Onam Sadya

Rice - Kerala red rice also known as Matta rice is traditionally used for this feast. 

Mezhukkupuratti - there are certain main side dishes that are served in Kerala banana leaf lunch menu. One of the must make dish is some kind of mezhukkupuratti which can be made with any vegetables like payaru, vendakkai mezhukkupuratti, beans mezhukkupuratti. Sometimes raw banana poriyal is also made.

Avial - this is a popular and important side dish in Onam sadya. Malabar avial made with mixed vegetables like raw banana, potato, carrot, brinjal, raw mango, cucumber, snake gourd, drumstick and more vegetables which are cooked together and a ground coconut paste with cumin seeds, green chillies is added. In the end Avial is finished with coconut oil and curry leaves. 

Thoran -  is made with vegetables like beetroot, carrot, cabbage or mixed vegetables. This is a dry dish which has a coarsely ground coconut paste which has shallots, cumin seeds, green chillies. 

Authentic Kerala Dish - these dishes which is important for Onam sadya which is also very popular in Kerala. It is  kalan and olan.  erissery is also a main dish.

Pachadi - this is nothing but some kind of vegetable which are usually grated or pureed in the making. Coconut, green chilli, cumin seed paste is added in the vegetable. In the end, thick unsour curd is mixed and a tempering is given. Some of the most popular pachadi recipes are Beetroot pachadi, Pineapple pachadi, Carrot pachadi, cucumber pachadi and ladies finger pachadi

Kuzhambu - 5 kuzhambu is must in Onam sadya feast meu. Paruppu curry, Sambar, Pineapple pulissery, Rasam, Sambaram. You can make mambazha pulissery or moru curry to add on the menu.

Side Dishes for Onam Sadhya Menu

Achar - usually in Kerala pickle has tamarind and spice based. instant mango pickle, narthangai pachadi and Puli inji are the most popular ones.

Accompaniments - some of the extra accompaniments served on the banana leaf are salt, banana, papadam, banana chips, upperi.

Payasam (Pradhaman) - no meals is complete without a dessert. Our Onam sadya feast has three payasam on the menu. You can swap it with variety more options shared below.  Ada payasam, Paruppu Payasam , Nendrapazham payasam

How to Meal Prep for Onam Sadya in Advance

Shopping & Cleaning your Fridge

Two days before Onam sadya feast. It is important to shop for fresh produce, groceries needed, coconut, coconut oil, dairy products and banana leaf. And it is time to clean up the fridge and make some room for the meal prep. Get all your containers and Tupperware ready. 

Grate Coconut

coconut is one of the main ingredient and you need them in plenty. Usually I go through 2 to 3 coconut for the Onam sadya menu including coconut milk for Pradhaman. Crack open coconut, remove the coconut meat using a knife or your can grate coconut in the scraper. Transfer the coconut in a container and pop them in fridge or freezer until required. You can even extract coconut milk and store in fridge for making payasam and pradhaman. 

Chopping Vegetables for Onam Sadya

In my opinion, chopping vegetables is the main task. Since this is a vegetarian feast you need to prepare lots of vegetables. So this is how I pre-prep. I chop, grate and cut all my vegetables and store in Tupperware in fridge for the next day. 

For Avial - take all the vegetables required for making avial. Peel the vegetables that are needed to be peeled. Cut them in finger shape. Store all the vegetables in the container and put them in fridge. 

Pachadi - depending on how many pachadi you are making, you need to grate or puree the vegetables and store in separate container. 

Achaar -  instant mango pickle, narthangai pachadi and Puli inji are the most popular achaar served in sadya. You can cook all these three in advance and store in fridge. These three can be preserved in fridge upto 10 days. 

Kuzhambu - you can boil dal and store in fridge for sambar. Vegetables can be chopped for making sambar. Chop pineapple or mangoes for making pulissery. I like to make parippu curry on the day of Onam sadya since it doesn’t taste good when prepared in advance. 

Payasam - if you are making chakka pradhaman, you can make the chakka varatti a week in advance. Other payasam taste best when made fresh. 

These are some of the meal prep which I do a day in advance of Onam festival. This reduces my work load half on the day of Onam. 

How to Cook Onam Sadya (Chill & Relax)

Now on the day of onam. Take all your prepared vegetables from fridge, Coconut from the freezer. Get pots and pans that you are going to use for cooking. 

Grind Coconut Paste in Bulk - most of the side dishes uses coconut, green chilli and cumin seed paste. So I grind this paste in bulk and divide it between the dishes. Avial, thoran, pachadi all require this coconut paste. 

Start with Side dishes - Start making all the side dishes. I start with avial, dump all the vegetables in a pot, sprinkle salt and turmeric. Add water and let the vegetables cook. Simultaneously you can make either mezhukkupuratti or pachadi in the next stove. Once all the dishes are cooked, remove them to their respective serving pots. Once side dishes are done, you can make the kuzhambu for the sadya. 

Tempering in Bulk - This is a hack for onam sadya. Once all your kuzhambu, side dishes and pachadi is done. You can heat coconut oil in bulk in a sauce pan, add tempering spices and make your tempering in bulk. 

Usual tempering used in all the dishes includes coconut oil, mustard, urad dal, cumin seeds, dry red chillies, curry leaves. This tempering can be divided between your dishes. Parippu curry, avial, pachadi, moru curry, sambar, rasam, pulissery all need this tempering. 

Cooking rice - I like to cook rice in the end so it stays hot at the time of serving. Kerala red rice also known as Matta rice is used. Since red rice takes time to cook, it is best to soak them for 1 hour so it cooks faster. If you have an instant pot, you can cook rice in advance. Strain them and store them in instant pot, keep warm mode so it stays hot. 

Collection of Onam Sadhya (Sadya) Recipes

Expert Tips

• Make sure you use coconut oil for making all the dishes which gives the authentic taste to the feast.
• Freshly extracted coconut milk can be substituted for store bought coconut milk for ease. 
• I like to grated vegetables for pachadi so it cooks faster. 
• Make sure you use plenty of curry leaves which adds aroma. 
• Serve onam sady feast in banana leaf for authenticity. 

FAQ

What is Onam?

Celebrating the rice harvest, Onam is one of the three primary Hindu celebrations, along with Vishu and Thiruvathira.

What is Onam Sadhya?

Sadhya is a feast of Kerala origin and of importance to all Malayalis, consisting of a variety of traditional vegetarian dishes usually served on a banana leaf in Kerala as lunch. It means banquet in Malayalam. Sadhya is typically served as a traditional dish for Onam, the state festival of Kerala.

Which is the main day of Onam 2024?

Onam is celebrated for 10 days. Starts from September 6 till September 15.

How many dishes in Onam Sadhya?

My onam sadya has 24 dishes. But everyone makes their sadya different.

What are the items for Onam Sadya?

The main dish is plain boiled rice, served along with other dishes collectively called Kootu which include curries like parippu, sambar, rasam, pulisseri and others like kaalan, avial, thoran, olan, pachadi, kichadi, koottukari, erissery, mango pickle, pulinji, naranga achaar (lime pickle), as well as papadam, plantain chips, sharkara upperi, banana, plain curd and buttermilk. The buttermilk is typically served near the end of the meal. The traditional dessert called payasam served at the end of the meal is of many kinds and usually three or more are served. Some of the varieties are Paal Ada, Ada Pradhaman, Paripu pradhaman, chakka pradhaman, etc.

How to Serve Onam Sadya?

The dishes are served on specific places on the banana leaf in specific order. For example, the pickles are served on the top left corner and the banana on the bottom left corner, which helps the waiters to easily identify and decide on offering additional servings. The most common ingredients in all the dishes are rice, vegetables, coconut and coconut oil as they are abundant in Kerala. Coconut milk is used in some dishes and coconut oil is used for frying and also as an ingredient in others.

📖 Recipe Card

If you have any questions not covered in this post and if you need help, leave me a comment or mail me @[email protected] and I’ll help as soon as I can.

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