Onam Specialties & SadyaVattom

Spending time with my family when everyone finds time to come to our home is bliss in itself. Because it’s the time when mom cooks her best. Usually they come during Onam or Vishu. During the festival time of Onam and Vishu we have the ‘Sadya’ during meal time. Food gets served in Bannana leaves during Onam and Vishu. Vegetarian traditional Kerala style food is made by mom, that which is so tasty and yummy that we ask for each helping one after the other. My mom is the best chef as far as i know of.

During Onam, there are lot of traditions like wooden swings are made on trees for the kids and grown-ups to play and swing on. Then pookkalam or flower arrangements are put in front of the house from Atham to Thiruvonam for ten days. On the day of Atham, there will be Atha Chamayam processions on the streets of Kochi. Then there is Snake boat races (Vallamkali) held during the time of Onam on the backwaters of Kerala. Pulikkali, is a tradition were people and kids dress up like tigers and dance through the streets and go to each Kerala home with drums and ‘Melam’. Then there will be Thiruvathirakkali were the women dance around the pookkalam with lamps lit in the middle.

The meals during festivities like Onam and Vishu are grand. The smells of various dishes in the making are a treat in itself. We get to eat in banana leaves on these occasions. Even for serving each dish on banana leaf, there is a technique for serving them on the plantain leaf for Sadya. There will be Pachadi, Kichaddi, Aviyal, Thoran, Kaalan, Olan, Koottu Curry, Sambar, Parippu, Rasam, PuliInji, Inji Thiru, various types of Veg Pickles, Vattals and other tasty delicacies. Inji curry is part of every sadya. It’s a thottu kuttaan or side dish. Its had with payasam, which is a tasty contrast to the sweet taste of payasams.

Pappadams are also common and famous during meal time. It’s a must have at Sadyas. One of our famous desserts are the Payasams like Paal Payasam, Paal Ada, Pazha Pradhaman(banana payasam), Chakka Pradhaman(jack fruit payasam) etc which gets served towards the end as sweeten and we finish off the meal with buttermilk or moru.

It’s a time of great fun. It is the time when the whole family from old to young get together to celebrate these occasions. It’s all about oneness where people come from all walks of life to come to celebrate these precious occasions which are a treat to one’s eyes. These are the times of colour, glory and fun.

Onam is a time of celebration when we buy new clothes for ourselves and our loved ones and come home to our hometown to make way for few fun filled happy times to cherish for a lifetime. When we go back to our work and daily routines, we will take back these memories and wait for those happy times to come back again next year.