Onam 2018 Recipes: From Payasam to Avial, Here’s How You Can Make Delicious Onam Dishes At Home!

In the month of Chingam, Kerala is carpeted by deep green hues set against the bright blue backdrop of the sky. It’s the time of year where farming communities gather their bountiful harvest and look forward to starting the year on the note of prosperity. Food plays a major role in the festivities. And the dishes are prepared out of fresh produce and grains. A typical Kerala spread for Onam is called a Sadhya, which is a medley of curries, chutneys and subzjis that come together in a delicious harmony. But as intimidating as the spread looks, most of the dishes are easy to prepare. If you don’t fancy slogging it out in the kitchen, don’t worry. You can always head out to these places in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, which are serving Kerala-style lunch or Sadhya. For the others, here are some classic Onam recipes for the season.

Sambar

The most important curry at the table for Onam has to be sambar. The Malayali sambar is a little different from its other South Indian variants, mainly because it comprises a medley of vegetables as opposed to a single vegetable. The sambar is usually served the last as it is ladled off on a huge mound of rice.

Avial

One of the most well-known dishes from Kerala is the avial. The dish has a coconut-curd gravy and features seasonal vegetables, everything from carrots to yams. Legend has it that the Pandavas invented the dish during their exile.

Kaalan

Another Onam favourite is kaalan, a bright yellow dish made of yoghurt and raw bananas or yam. A simple tempering of mustard seeds, red chilli, fenugreek and curry leaves are added at the end.

Olan

Olan is a delicately-flavoured dish with a coconut milk base. It is made of gourd vegetables, beans and flavoured with coconut oil. It may taste too bland for people who are used to sharper more piquant flavours. That's why it's meant to be had in combination with other dishes during the sadhya.

Puliserry

This sadhya staple is a sour curd-based curry made with cucumber, gourds or papaya. Sometimes, it can also be made with fruits like pineapple. It punctuates the meal with tangy-sweet notes.

Eriserry

A hot and sour dish, erissery is traditionally made in a coconut-based gravy with yams, pumpkin and beans.

Naranga Curry

Naranga curry literally means lemon curry. It's a sour dish fashioned like a pickle that can be served immediately after preparing.

Injipuli

Injipuli literally lists the two main ingredients in the dish – inji (ginger) and puli (tamarind). The chutney/sauce is served at the start of the meal to cleanse the palate.

Thoran

Thoran is a dry subzi mostly made with a dry vegetable like cabbage, carrot or leafy greens. The dish is tempered with mustard, jeera and curry leaves.

Kootu Curry

Kootu curry literally means the "paired curry." The dish usually comprises Bengal grams and colocasia in a thick coconut gravy.

Pachadi

Another yoghurt-based dish prepared during Onam is pachadi. Bottle gourd, yellow cucumbers and pumpkin. You can also make it with seasonal fruits such as pineapple or veggies like beetroot. A final tempering of mustard seeds, cumin, red chillies and curry leaves is what adds a special something to the dish.

Palada Payasam

The one dish that gives you the motivation to finish all the food on your "plate" is the palada payasam. It's a rosy-pink payasam, made of only three ingredients: milk, sugar and ada (rice dough shavings). It's the  pièce de résistance of every sadhya meal.

Onam is the time of the year when you don't give a thought about your expanding waistline and eat to your heart's content. A typical sadhya may be high in calories but the meals are made with fresh and nutrient-rich ingredients such as coconuts, gourds, beans, greens and vegetables, all rounded off with a sweet payasam in the end.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 24, 2018 07:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).