Sadya in America: How to make Onam feast with ingredients available in the US

Onam, a key festival for the Malayalis all around the world will begin soon on August 26th with the key day, Thiruvonam falling on September 5th. The ten-day festival marks the annual harvest season in Kerala and is a time of celebrating and being grateful for the harvest.People living across the globe celebrate the festival with proper traditions wearing traditional clothes, exchanging gifts, creating floral carpets called Pookalams and sharing a grand feast called Onam Sadya together. For those living away from home, fulfilling all the traditions might seem a bit difficult, but preparing a delicious Onam Sadya is not.Find out how you can make a memorable sadya this year with ingredients available in the US.

What is an Onam Sadya?

Sadya is a large vegetarian feast served on banana leaves on the festival of Onam and includes 20-30 dishes that cater to all flavours. It forms the heart of the festival's celebrations and symbolises togetherness and growth.

How to prepare an Onam Sadya in the US?

You will need to shop for basic ingredients such as Kerala Matta rice, known as red parboiled rice. While these are easily available in grocery stores, you can swap them with brown rice if not. Other ingredients are common products such as lentils, vegetables, coconut oil and milk, and flavour staples such as tamarind, yogurt, jaggery, green chillies, and curry leaves, which can be found in nearby Indian or Asian stores.

In terms of vegetables, you can substitute one with another such as carrots for yams, zucchini for ash gourd and so on.

Dishes to prepare for Onam Sadya 2025

These are some fundamental recipes you can prepare for sadya this year in the US and share with your closest friends and family in a meal of togetherness and gratefulness.Parippu curry, made with moong dal, coconut paste and ghee.Sambar made with lentils, tamarind and vegetables such as ash gourd, pumpkin and more.Rasam with tamarind, tomato and pepper.Avial which is a mixed vegetable dish with coconut-yogurt sauce and spices.Kalan, yogurt-based curry with raw banana, which is easily available in grocery stores.Olan, a coconut milk stew with ash gourd and beans.Kootu curry, with pumpkin or yam, coconut and black-eyed peas.Thoran which are dry vegetable stir-fries with coconut.Pachadi, curd-based sides with vegetables.Inji Puli, a sweet and sour ginger-tamarind pickle.Lastly, for dessert, you can opt for Ada Pradhaman with rice cooked in coconut milk and jaggery.For those who can not get a banana leaf, using an eco-friendly substitute for it can offer a similar experience. Begin by serving the pickles, chips, followed by olan, kalan, avial, kootu, thoran, pachadi and place rice with sambar, rasam and pradhaman in the centre.