Dates Payasam

Onam Sadya is incomplete without a payasam. Infact, its the highlight of an onam sadya, right? We always try to go with the Cherupayar Parippu Payasam for Onam Sadya. Ever since I was a kid, the onam sadya at home always had Cherupayar Parippu payasam for sadya. Other payasams are usually had for other occasions. If you are not so strict about having a particular payasam for onam then you could try a variety of payasams for your sadya. One such payasam is Dates payasam.

The highlight of this payasam is that no sugar goes into it. Its just the sweetness of the dates that makes this payasam yum. So if you are open to trying something new for this onam then go ahead and try it. You wouldn't be disappointed :). Also, this can be made quickly and that too it gets done with just one greasy pot :). Now that is one plus to try it for onam, when you have loads of dishes to do after the sadya.

Kerala Parippu Curry

Onam is fast approaching. Sadya is what comes into my mind when I speak of Onam. We don't usually get to eat food on banana leaf, otherwise. So, Onam Sadya is so looked forward to. Last year, we managed to make a mini sadya at home, for the first time, after having Jordan. We made the pookalam too. The little one was too excited that all the effort seemed, so worth. The other day when I told him that onam is in like a weeks time. He said he wants a sadya. My jaws dropped. I didn't expect him to remember last years celebrations. But he remembers every bit of it.

I remember asking my parents to take me for a sadya at the karshaka market (that is the place were we would get sadya served on banana leaf) when we came to kerala during one vacation. My Mom laughed and said, "usually kids ask for biriyani or porotta-chicken or icecream treat etc. But I asked for sadya". I guess my kido has also gone after me. He loves the whole sitting down for sadya and having the spread infront of him on banana leaf. Ohhh...I just can't wait to have sadya now.

Papaya Thoran / Papaya Stir fry with coconut

An overdose of anything would make you hate it. That is what happened to me w.r.t papaya thoran. i used to be a big fan of this thoran. I used to even like eating raw papaya. But when I moved to the hostel, it was served every other day, just because they had surplus papaya growing in their vegetable garden. I remember hating it since then.

After so many years had passed, when I started to spot the street vegetable vendors in pune, display it among the variety of vegetables, I got tempted. I got one and tried it. We licked clean the bowl. Ever since we used to buy it now and then to make it at home.

Kovakka Kichadi or Ivy Gourd in yogurt sauce

Onam Sadya has a wide list of items on the menu and one of it is Kichadi. Pavakka Kichadi and Kovakka Kichadi is equally liked by all of us. We go with making of either one of them for the sadya at home. And it is not something that appears only for onam. We make it very often esp. in summer.

My MIL always makes us some pavakka kondattam and packs it to take home after vacation. She once tried kovakka kondattam too when she had too much kovakka from her kitchen garden. We liked it too, but not as much as pavakka kondattam. So we used to fry it and make kovakka kichadi out of it. They were superb that way. And far easy rather than slicing and frying the kovakka for kichadi. So if you have kovakka kondattam in hand, try making kichadi out of it. Its an instant one but tastes so good.

Homemade Sambar Powder

While growing up, I always used to see my mother take the effect to dry the ingredients for sambar powder in the sun and then grind it to make the homemade sambar powder. It would be an effort but the end result is that delicious sambar that no other brand masalas can offer.

And the peace of mind that you get to have homemade product because you very well know what went into it and are not worried of the impurities that are present in the store bought ones. Oh, and that smell that gets filled in your home is just pure divine.

Kalan

We don't make Kalan very often to go with our daily meals. But for Sadya, it is a must. And when you get to have it just once or twice a year, it gets special. Onam is fast approaching and you may want to add it to your already huge list of items for Sadya, if not already.

Raw banana curries are not very well appreciated by my family and that is the very reason why we don't make it often. But if you love raw bananas, don't restrict it for just Sadya alone. Add it to your daily menu items. They are yumm.

Pavakka Kichadi

Bitter gourd and me have had issues for long and till date it has not changed but yeah resolved a bit with time. I love it fried, in the form of Kondattam. So these bitter gourd are not frequently seen in my kitchen.

But when Onam comes and you have to make a khichadi, I get these and make it this way. It has a bit of frying involved which makes it less bitter, so we get to enjoy it with the sadya. This is how I make it.

Puli inji / Inji Puli / Inji Curry

Puli Inji - the name itself gets my tastebuds active. But since I have some leftover from the last week's Sadya, I am good. I can have it for lunch today :). Now it is not something that I associate as a daily menu item. We generally make it only for Onam Sadya. And they can be stored well. So you could make it before hand and not worry about it among the "n" number of items you would be making on the day of Sadya.

If you are planning for a Sadya anytime, this is a must in your menu list. No Sadya can be complete without the mixed flavor of Puli Inji- a bit of tartness, a pinch of sweet and little spiciness. So here is the recipe to the Puli Inji.