Onam: Festival of food, fun and flowering prosperity

Dubai - The culture of Kerala is showcased in full glory during Onam

Onam is Kerala's 10-day harvest festival that celebrates the return of Mahabali, the mythological king who sacrificed his life for the well-being of his people. It starts on the first day of Atham, and continues till the tenth day Thiruvonam, even though the main celebrations are centred around 1 to 2 days by modern-day Malayalees.

Unique because of the social nature of the festivities and focus on the ritual feast - the 'sadhya' which traditionally comprises 28 different dishes served on a plantain leaf - the 'pookalam' flower carpet, traditional dancing and songs that bring all Malayalees together, the culture of Kerala is showcased in full glory during Onam.

The king who returns every year

Legend has it that Kerala's most benevolent king, Mahabali, promised to visit his erstwhile subjects on earth once every year. The 10-day festival thus begins when the king comes back to earth to see his people. Accordingly, his subjects dish out the warmest of welcomes to their favourite ruler by displaying their prosperous lives through food, flowers and fun festivities.

They start by laying a colourful carpet of fresh flowers, the 'pookalam', in the courtyard of their homes. The enchanting 'kaikottikali' clapping dance by women and the elaborate vegetarian lunch or the sadhya, are all part of the welcome.

Keralites are known for their simple yet splendid off-white and gold bordered traditional attire - worn by both men and women - and on Onam it only serves to accentuate the elegance of the festival.

Today, when Malayalees are spread all around the world, the traditions and general joie de vivre of Onam serves as a lovely reminder of the green and prosperous slice of land they hail from.

Tasty celebration on a leaf

The most awaited part of the Onam festival is the traditional sadhya - or the lavish vegetarian feast served on a fresh plantain leaf. The sumptuous meal centres around rice and over 21 vegetarian dishes, which may even go up to over 60 if you're lucky to have some expert chefs are around! But the following are the must-serves on the plantain leaf:

Parippu curry

Moong dal/lentils cooked with grated coconut and spices with drizzled ghee

Where to find the perfect Onam sadhya in UAE?

Back home Onam might be a huge leveller with the rich and the not-so-rich alike feasting from a plantain leaf. But trust Dubai to take it a notch higher. At Mazina, Address Dubai Marina, you can partake of 105 dishes from starters to dessert, buffet style including traditional dishes like Kalan (Raw banana cubes cooked with curd, coconut paste tempered with curry leaves and south Indian spices), Erissery (Raw Banana/ Yam cooked with coconut jeera paste and Dal), and Ela Ada (Rice flour cake spread on banana leaf steamed with banana, jaggery and grated coconut stuffing).

The feast is on till September 6, from 7pm to 11pm for Dhs175 per person including soft beverages:

Mami's Ilam, Discovery Gardens, will be serving 22 dishes. Dine in is for Dhs30 and take-away for Dhs32

For Dhs35, you can feast on 30 dishes at Thakkaaram, Abu Shagara, Sharjah

Kadavu Restuarant, Karama, Dubai is serving up 26 dishes including three paayasams for Dhs30

Malabar Paris Restaurant, Dubai, has 30 dishes for Dhs35 for dine-in and Dhs38 for takeaway

If you have a sweet tooth then opt for the five payasams including Ambalappuzha palppayasam that's part of Kolam Restaurant's Onasadya (Dhs35) at, King Faizal Street, Sharjah

In the capital and hungry for sadya? Try out the Keralathanima Restaurant, Abu Dhabi where you get 28 items for Dhs33

Wide Range is offering take-aways and dine-in offers from Dhs30. Having personally tried out the Al Quoz branch, we can vouch for the home-cooked appeal!

Sambar

Dal-based curry with vegetables, spices, tamarind

Pulissery

Spiced, aromatic cooked buttermilk with turmeric, vegetables and sometimes, fruits

Rasam

Spiced, seasoned, tamarind, pepper and chilli-based broth

Olan

Curry with white gourds, yellow pumpkin, coconut milk and coconut oil

Kaalan

Plantain, tuber or yam-based spicy-sour curry with yoghurt and coconut

Pachadi

Mildly spiced, yoghurt-based dish made with vegetables or fruits for a cooling effort

Kichadi

Curd and cucumber dish served raw or cooked

Avial

Mixed vegetables in thick, seasoned coconut paste

Thoran

Sauteed vegetables with grated coconut

Paapad

Thin, fried crisps made of dough

Injipuli

Tradition pickle paste with hot, sour and sweet elements to aid digestion

Erissery or Koottukari

Vegetables, black chenna and coconut

Sarkara varati

Banana chips coated with jaggery, ginger and cardamom powder

Achaar

Spicy pickles of mango or lime

Paal Payasam

Kheer made of rice and milk

Semiya Payasam

Kheer of vermicelli and flavoured with cardamom, raisins, cashwenuts

Parippu payasam

Thick kheer of fried dal and jaggery and flavoured with cardamom, raisins, cashwenuts, and fried coconut bits

Sadhya - dos and don'ts

*Narrow part of the plantain leaf has to be placed pointing to the eater's left side

* The dishes are served starting from the top-left corner of the leaf

* Order of the items served: small yellow banana, sharkara upperi, upperi, pappadam, mango pickle, injipuli, lime pickle, thoran, olan, avial, pachadi, kichadi, erissery/koottu curry and salt are placed in order on the upper half of the leaf

* Rice: bottom centre of the leaf

* Main items: parippu, sambar, kaalan, rasam, paayasams. in that order

* The items are served in that order to primarily aid easy digestion of the heavy meal

What else happens during Onam?

Don't be fooled into thinking Malayalees are all about just eating food and lazy dancing celebrations.

If you ever get the chance to visit Kerala during the Onam week, prepare to have your mind blown by the sheer scale of festivities. Elaborate feasts are served at homes, restaurants and cultural halls and events all around, and feverishly competitive dance and music events - besides pookalam-making contests - make for some very enjoyable festival viewing.

GRAPHIC POOKALAMS: The elaborate floral carpets are a sight to behold, embracing modernity in the form of digital- and graphic-looking designs, or even depicting the creators' favourite movie stars or TV shows!

POOKALAM CAKES: These days, even pookalam-themed cake baking has become quite the trend in Kerala during the festival! You can just imagine the sort of colourful icing and fondant decorations that deck the cakes.

BEHOLD THE SNAKE BOATS: In and around the Kuttanad region of Kerala, covering the Alappuzha (or Aleppey) and Kottayam districts and down to Kollam (Quilon), the rice bowl of Kerala where the state's famed backwaters also lie, the traditional snake boat races or 'vallamkali' are a huge highlight during the Onam month. The traditional paddled long boat races are one of the state's major tourist attractions. Don't miss one of the trophy races if you get the chance, to catch some frenzied racing to the tune of traditional songs and drum beats.

DANCING AND FIGHTS: Before or after the Onasadhya meal, women and children perform folk dances and songs like the kaikottikali, thumbithullal and thiruvathirakali. In rural parts of the state, you can even see the 'pulikali' (an entertaining act by performers painted and dressed up as feline cats like tigers and leopards), 'kummatikali' (performed by masked dancers), and even the 'Ona thallu', a free-for-all friendly mock fight where you can 'beat up' others with open handed slapping or freestyle wrestling.

These fun and frolickly events are a throwback to the era when such entertainment prevailed, before electronic and digital media came along. All in all, as you can see, Onam is a festival filled with all the elements that make up the good things in life!

FESTIVAL OF COMMUNAL HARMONY: A heart-warming aspect of Onam is also representative of Kerala's unique status as a place that symbolises Indian communal and social harmony. All sections of people, cutting across class, caste and religious barriers, celebrate the festival. Even though it started out as a Hindu festival, it's now more of a cultural one celebrated with equal gusto by Kerala's sizeable Christian and Muslim populations, with Onam celebrations even held in some churches starting with the lighting of the 'nilavilakku' or traditional lamp.

The mutual respect and shared traditions of Keralites ensure that no one is missing out on the fabulous food, flowers, dancing and games. Happy Onam!

marypaulose@khaleejtimes.com

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