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| Kerala Sadya |
Sadya, is a typical feast of the people of Kerala. Sadya is
traditionally a vegetarian meal served on a banana leaf. People are seated cross-legged on the mat on the
floor. All the dishes are served on the leaf and eaten with the right hand. A
Sadya can have about 24-28 dishes served as a single course. Serving a sadya is usually a team work and
there will be around 5-10 guys just for this job.
Dishes in a sadhya
The main dish is plain
boiled rice, served along with other dishes, which include curries
like Parippu, Sambar,Rasam, Pulisseri and other like Kaalan, Avial, Thoran, Olan, Pachadi, Mango
pickle, Naranga curry, as well
as Papadum, Banana, plain Yogurt orButtermilk, and plantain chips. The traditional dessert called Payasam served
at the end of the meal is of many kinds and usually three or more are served. The
most common ingredients in all the dishes are coconut and coconut oil as they
are abundant in Kerala The dishes are served on specific places on the banana
leaf in specific order.
The sadhya is usually served
for lunch. Preparations begin the night before, and the dishes are prepared
before ten o' clock in the morning on the day of the celebration. On many
occasions, sadya is served on tables, as people no longer find it convenient to
sit on the floor.
Conventionally, the meal may
be followed by vettila murukkan, chewing of betel
leaf with lime and arecanut. This
helps digestion of the meal and also cleanses the palate.
There
are variations in the menu depending on the place and religion.
1. Jaggerychips
2. Banana chips
3. Ginger pickle
4. Mango
pickle (preferably kadumanga achar)
5. Lemon pickle
9. Pachadi ( Vellerikka pachadi, beetroot pachadi, etc.)
10. Kootucurry
11. Thoran ( Cabbage thoran, carrot thoran, beetroot thoran etc.)
12. Aviyal
13. Rice : Its the main item in a sadya.
16. Kumbalanga Pulissery / Mambazha Kalan
19. Ada
pradhaman
20. Pal payasam
Prathaman is a sweet dish in the form of
a thick liquid; similar to payasam.
a. Palada prathaman is made of flakes
of cooked rice, milk, and sugar.
b. Pazha prathaman is made of cooked
"nendra pazham" / plantain in jaggery and coconut milk.
c. Gothambu prathaman is made of
broken wheat.
d. Parippu prathaman is made of
green gram.
e. Chakka
prathaman is made of jackfruit.
How to serve Sadhya
The meal is traditionally
served on a mat laid on the floor. The dishes has to be served on a tender
banana leaf. The tip of the banana leaf should be facing the left of the person
eating. The order of serving may be different in different places.
Start serving from the tip
side of the leaf and use the top half (from the person eating) for all the
curries. The first item is always a pinch of salt, continue serving Kerala pappadum,
ripe banana, banana chips, and jaggery
chips. It is followed by kichadi, pachadi, avial, thoran and other side
dishes. Slowly the top half of the leaf is filled with different side dishes
from right to left. Rice is served after all the curries are served first.
How to eat Sadhya
1. Parippu curry is the
first course and always served with melted ghee. Serve Sambar next. Make sure
to top up curries as they run out on the leaf. Then pulissery or moru curry and
rasam. Inji curry is a great combination with this course.
2. The second round goes
with one big spoon of rice and the
desserts like adaprathaman, Kadala Payasam, paal payasam etc.
3. The third and final round of rice is served
with Sambharam / Butter milk. That finishes serving the dishes. The guests are
supposed to fold the leaves after finishing their lunch.
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