Though Onam celebrations are due next week, many have started preparations for the big day already — from zeroing in on the pookalam design to buying traditional Onam attire and finalising the sadhya recipes. The most anticipated moment of the day is definitely the lavish lunch spread, sadhya. Mostly vegetarian, the feast comprises a wide variety of dishes that include kaalan, olan, avial, pachadi, kichadi, erissery, thoran and much more. The meal is usually ended by the traditional dessert payasam.
For this year’s Onam festival, we have chefs bring you recipes for a grand onasadhya.
OLAN
Ingredients:
- Yellow pumpkin - 1/4 kg
- White pumpkin - 1/4 kg
- Coconut milk - 100 ml
- Red beans - 100 gms
- Coconut oil - 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
Method:
- Peel and chop both white pumpkin and yellow pumpkin into medium sized pieces. Cook the read beans and keep it aside. Now, cook the yellow pumpkin, white pumpkin and cooked red beans with half of thick coconut milk.
- When it is done, add another half a cup of coconut milk. Add salt to taste. Garnish with curry leaves and serve cold.
PINEAPPLE PACHADI
Ingredients:
- Pineapple (ripe, medium) - 1
- Grapes (black) - 500 gms
- Grated coconut - 1/2 of a coconut
- Coconut oil - 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
- Dry chilli - 4
- Green chilli - 4
- Kashmir chilli - 6
- Jaggery - 4 tsp
- Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
- Curry leaves
- Yogurt - 1/2 cup
- Curry leaves
- Salt to taste
Method:
- Peel off pineapple skin and chop into small pieces.
- Boil chopped pineapple pieces, turmeric powder, jaggery and salt.
- Grind Kashmir chillies, turmeric powder and grated coconut.
- Heat coconut oil in a pan and splutter whole mustard seeds. Add dry chillies, green chillies, curry leaves and cooked pineapple. Add the chilly coconut paste and cook in low flame.
- Once it is done, add yogurt. Finally add grapes and mix well. Take care not to mash the grapes while stirring. Once it starts boiling, remove from fire.
- Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves and add the seasonings to the pachadi.
By Chef Parasuraman, Coconut Grove
NENDRA PAZHAM PAYASAM
Ingredients:
- Kerala banana (ripe) - 4
- Jaggery - 100 gms
- Coconut milk -150 ml
- Cashew nut - 20 gms
- Raisins - 10 gms
- Ghee - 30 ml
- Coconut slivers - 5 gms
- Cardamom powder - 3 gms
Method:
- Cut ripe banana with skin into 3-4 pieces and place them in a steamer and steam till the banana is well-cooked.
- Remove the outer skin and the black layer inside and mash the bananas to a paste without lumps.
- Heat ghee in a thick bottomed vessel and fry the mashed banana paste for five minutes.
- Add the crushed jaggery and cook in medium heat until the mixture thickens.
- Pour the thin diluted coconut milk and allow it to boil.
- When it thickens; reduce the flame and add thick coconut milk and cardamom powder, cook it for couple of minutes and remove from fire.
- Heat ghee in a small pan and fry cashews, raisins and coconut slivers and add this to the pradhaman.
- Serves for four people
Mathanga Vanpayar Erissery
Ingredients:
- Yellow pumpkin - 300 gms
- Black-eyed peas - 150 gms
- Salt to taste
To grind
- Coconut grated - 50 gms
- Cumin -10 gms
- Green chillies - 5
- Turmeric powder - 3 gms
To temper
- Coconut oil -15 ml
- Mustard seeds - 5 gms
- Shallots - 15 gms
- Byadagi chillies - 10 gms
- Curry leaves - a sprig
Method:
- Remove the skin and the seeds of pumpkin. Chop them into bite sized pieces and set aside. In a mixer add all the ingredients listed under ‘To grind’.
- Grind it along with little water to a slightly coarse paste and set it aside. Pressure cook black-eyed peas with enough water for 6-7 whistles or until soft.
- In a pan, boil pumpkin with enough water to cover. When cooked, mash it roughly with a ladle. Add the coconut mixture and let it boil for 3-5 mins until the raw smell of coconut subsides.
- Then add cooked black-eyed peas along with cooked water, required salt and mix well. Keep in low flame and let it cook. Meanwhile in a pan, dry roast coconut till it’s nicely browned. Set aside.
- Heat oil, add the ingredients listed under ‘To temper’. Add onion only after the items splutter. Fry till onions turn slightly brown. Now, add the tempering and roasted coconut.
(Recipes by Executive Chef Sujan Mukherjee, Taj Coromandel)
Kaalan
Ingredients:
- Nendran banana - 250gm or 1 no
- Yam - 250 gms
- Coconut paste - 2 no
- Curd - 1 ltr
- Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
- Pepper powder - 50 gms
- Jeera - 1 tsp
- Methi seed powder -1/2 tsp
- Ghee - 1 tsp
- Mustard - 20 gms
- Salt to taste
Method:
Boil yam and nendran banana in a vessel. While boiling add curd and mix it well with turmeric powder and salt till they get soft. When it becomes thick, add pepper powder, jeera, coconut paste and keep it separately. Take another pan, heat coconut oil, add mustard seeds and curry leaves to it and stir for a few minutes. Add the buttermilk mixture to this and mix it well. Garnish with curry leaves and serve cold.
(By chef-cum-priest, Unnikrishnan Namboodiri)
