Onam 2019: What is Onam Sadya? What's The Significance Of This Grand Feast?

Add as a preferred source on Google

Onam is the biggest festival celebrated in Kerala. Apart from being a harvest festival, Onam is also the new year for Keralites. This year, in 2019, Onam festival will be celebrated from 1 September to 13 September.

All Indian festivals are incomplete without food. Feasting is apart and parcel of any kind of religious celebrations. So Onam celebrations are no different. Food and feasting is an integral part of Onam celebrations. A typical meal for Onam is the Onam Sadya. But this is much more than just a meal, it is an elaborate feast.

The Onam 'Sadya' is the Malayalam word for a feast. Actually, Sadya is not just served during Onam celebrations. A Sadya can also be the meal served during a wedding or Vishu which is another Kerala festival. However, the Onam Sadya has its own specifications and particulars. For example, a set number of items and types of food have to serve in this feast.

Particulars Of Onam Sadya

• For all practical purposes, the Sadya served on Onam is purely vegetarian. Onions and garlic are not used in this meal at all.
• Typically, the Sadya has to have at least 23-24 items in totality. These dishes served in the feast come in the form of many courses served one after another.
• The Sadya is served on a banana leaf and eaten sitting on the floor. All family and friends sit in rows on the floor and enjoy the food with their fingers. No kind of cutlery is used for eating the feast.
• The Onam Sadya has some very special items from the Kerala cuisine. For example, avail (curd curry), thoran (dry vegetables), pickles, lemon, salt and boiled rice are some of the main dishes served in the feast. Kootu curry and payasam (sweet dish) are also essential dishes for the Onam Sadya.
• All these special dishes of the Kerala cuisine are served in a particular order. In the end, it is customary for all the guests to chew on betel leaves as a digestive.

Significance Of Onam Sadya

The feast of Onam has its own significance too. Onam is celebrated as the day on which King Mahabali visits his people every year. During the reign of King Mahabali, Kerala reached the zenith of prosperity and wellbeing. That is why King Mahabali wanted to ensure that his people are always well-fed and prosperous. So, the Onam Sadya is made very grand and generous so that the great king is happy to see his people are well-fed and happy.