Ona Sadhya

Welcome to the Gods own FEAST  ival

The mother of all Sadhyas

To The feast of Gods

To one Created for the Mahabali…..

THE ONASADHYA !!!!

Be it the toddy loving or kattan Chaya gulping mallu

Be you a Potbellied or slim waisted beauty you all will love it

 Served on an ecological Banana leaf with its point to the left side of the guest

The hot food melds with the green leaf emanating  a divine flavour churning the gastronomic juices long before the Mallu tucks into his Sadhya .

Every single dish in the leaf has its place and purpose and is a brilliant combination of visual temptation and titillating flavours which tingle the taste buds.

 Ona sadhya is an art, with science behind every item which numbers anything from a humble twenty to a luxurious sixty five.

Each item has a place in the leaf handed down as a tradition and can be placed only in its place   so say connoisseurs

Pickles should be in top left upper, below is banana chips and sarkara upperi ,and pappadom

Inji puli kootukurry thoran kalan olan avial erissery on upper half of leaf once all these are placed hot rice is served in lower centre ,

Boiled rice (brown par boiled) pazizham digests faster than polished white rice

Sambhar is king of the Sadhya  thick concoction of lentils tamarind vegetables asofoetida and coconut

Avial is the minister of the Sadhya : its mixed vegetables in ground coconut  said to have been invented by Bhima himself hiding as a cook the day  he needed a quick recipe

Kalan :  yam and raw banana simmered thick in tangy yoghurt sauce

Thoran  : vegetables stir fried in grated coconut

Elissery   : pumpkin and red beans in grated coconut gravy

Olan   : Ash gourd and red beans in coconut milk

Puli inji  : Tamarind with ginger which gives a pungent tickle and helps in digestion

Pickle  : cut mango or lime which brings out the saliva to dilute your food

Kootucurry :thick curry of yam ,black channa and grated coconut 

Moru : butter milk to cool the embers in the stomach

Rasam: Tamarind soup well known as mulligatawny soup by the British

Banana chips: yellow raw banana crispies fried in coconut oil and sarkara upperi is the one coated with jaggery

Pappadam big and small

Ghee is poured on lentils or parippu

Ada Payasam dessert made of rice bits called Ada in condensed milk which tastes divine. Diabetics are forgiven today

One starts with banana chips and then inji puli to open up the taste buds and then take parippu with ghee later sambhar, rasam and then payasam finally buttermilk or curd

And after you belch once you finish its important how you fold your leaf if towards you it means you are satiated if other way it means something is lacking in the feast

so be careful of how  you do it !