Onam, which is identified as one of the major holidays in Kerala, has a singular propriety in the South Indian culture and tradition. The occasion is celebrated with great energy and is one of the festivals where it is also a time to enjoy traditional food. The food cooked on the occasion of Onam is the food produced on the occasion of Onam that is unlike any of the food items cooked on other festivals, and thus, it is given a special place. The variety, in addition to the uniqueness of food cooked during the festival season, serves to make Onam different from other festivals. Sadhya, traditional dishes, and delicious sweets are demonstrations of this festival’s cultural diversity.
Features of Onam Food
- Importance of Complete Meal (Sadhya)
During Onam, a special meal called ‘Sadhya’ is cooked. Sadhya is the food that is typical of the Malayali people, where many foods are served. These include many vegetables, pulses, chutneys, pickles, papad, and sweets. Sadhya is the result of a combination of several ingredients, which makes it a complete meal of flavor and nutrition.
- Traditional Dishes
The foods included in the Onam meals are:
- Avil: This is a unique vegetable mixture that is prepared with coconut and spices.
- Kalan: It is a curry made of raw jackfruit or banana with yogurt and spices added.
- Sambar: It is a delicious blend of lentils and vegetables usually eaten with rice.
- Puliyodarai: A dish made of rice with a spicy and sour taste that is prepared only on Onam.
- Thiruvathirakali: This is a sweet dish that is a staple in Onam Lenten.
- Mild and natural ingredients
During Onam, the ingredients used in the food are usually mild and natural. To make them, various compound ingredients or animal products are never used. The fact is, in this case, firm plants, vegetables, legumes, and spices are being utilized. These ingredients do not only have a nice taste, but they are also very good food from the point of view of nutrition. This leads the discussion to the subject of the advantages of vegetarianism that the Onam festival’s only vegetarian recipes may bring about, which has the added bonus of being beneficial to human health.
- Delicious Sweets
The most important aspect of the occasion of Onam is definitely the absence of the sweet like usual. In the list of the sweets prepared in Onam, a variety of sweets are included, out of which some have a special name known only to the Onam people, like Ada Pradhaman, Payasam, Banana Kheer, and Elayappam, to mention a few. ‘Adai’ is a sweet dish prepared from rice and jaggery, which is cooked with milk and coconut. Payasam is the kind of sweet made of goat milk, sugar, and rice. We also made elaichi, which is made from banana, but we only serve it during Onam.
- Food organization and service
The kind of presentation and the unique culture of Onam food are organized on Onam occasion with a lot of excitement and grandeur. They usually eat the palm leaves that are placed on the tables, they pick either the fabric or wood and use them as part of the entertainment. By doing so, people of the oldest Osap are entertained in cultural and social settings.
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