Sadya (), also spelt as sadhya, is a meal of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

origin and of importance to all Malayalis, consisting of a variety of traditional vegetarian dishes usually served on a

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

leaf as lunch. Sadya is typically served as a traditional feast for

Onam Onam () is an annual harvest and Hindus, Hindu cultural festival celebrated mostly by the people of Kerala. A major annual event for Malayalis, Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. H ...

and

Vishu Vishu (Malayalam: വിഷു) is a Hindu festival celebrating the Malayali New Year in Kerala, Tulu Nadu, and Mahe of India. Vishu falls on the first day of the month of ''Medam'', the first month of the Solar calendar used in Malabar of ...

, along with other special occasions such as birthdays, weddings and temple festivals.

Etymology

The Malayalam word ''sadya'' () derives from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

''ságdhi-'' (), referring to a communal feast.

Overview

A typical sadya can have about 24–28 dishes served as a single course.In some cases, where it is much larger, it can include over 64 items, such as the sadya for Aranmula Vallamkali ( Valla-sadya). During a traditional sadya meal, people are seated

cross-legged Sitting is a basic action and resting position in which the body weight is supported primarily by the bony ischial tuberosities with the buttocks in contact with the ground or a horizontal surface such as a chair seat, instead of by the lower ...

on mats. Food is eaten with the right hand, without cutlery. The fingers are cupped to form a ladle. The main dish is plain boiled

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

, served along with other curries/''koottaan'' () which include

parippu Dal is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses. Dal or DAL may also refer to: Places Cambodia *Dal, Ke Chong Finland * Laakso, a neighbourhood of Helsinki India * Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India * Dal La ...

, sambar, rasam, and others like , , , , , , , ,

mango pickle Mango pickle is a variety of pickle prepared using mango. It is very popular in South and Southeast Asia. These sour/spicy pickles are also available commercially. Varieties The pickling process in India differs from other regions mainly d ...

injipuli Injipuli is a dark brown sweet-sour and spicy pickle made of ginger, tamarind, green chillies and jaggery mainly prepared in Kerala during Onam. It is also a part of Tamil Nadu cuisine. It is also known as puli inji in some parts of Kerala, Sou ...

mezhukkupuratti Mezhukkupuratti is a style of preparation for vegetarian dishes in Kerala (especially in Central Travancore) where the vegetable is stir-fried with spices. Chopped onions or shallots may also be used. Usually the dish is prepared from any of th ...

, , as well as

papadam A papadam (also spelled poppadom, among other variants), also known as papad, is a snack that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Dough of black gram bean flour is either deep fried or cooked with dry heat (flipped over an open flame) unt ...

plantain chips Fried plantain is a dish cooked wherever plantains grow, from West Africa to East Africa as well as Central America, the tropical region of northern South America and the Caribbean countries like Haiti to Cuba and in many parts of Southeast A ...

, ,

, plain

curd Curd is obtained by Denaturation (biochemistry), coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet, a Kefir cheese, ...

and

buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in Western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most mode ...

. The buttermilk is typically served near the end of the meal. The traditional dessert called

payasam Kheer, khir or payasam is a pudding or porridge popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice. It can be additionally flavoured with dried fruits, nuts, cardamom and saffron. Instead of rice, it ...

served at the end of the meal is of many kinds and usually three or more are served. Some of the varieties are Paalada pradhaman,

Ada pradhaman Ada pradhaman is a traditional Keralite dessert made by using the rice ada (rice pasta or flakes) with a sauce of cooked coconut milk and jaggery. Ada pradhaman is specially prepared in homes of the state of Kerala in India on the festival day ...

, Parippu pradhaman, Chakka pradhaman, Gothampu payasam, Paal payasam, etc. The multiple curries are all made with different vegetables and have their own flavor. The variety of curries is to symbolize prosperity and well-being. The dishes are served in different spots on the banana leaf. For example, the pickles are served on the top left corner and the banana in the bottom left corner, which helps the waiters to easily identify and decide on offering additional servings. The most common ingredients in all the dishes are coconut as it is abundant in Kerala. Coconut milk is used in some dishes, and coconut oil is used for frying. There are variations in the menu depending on the place. Although the custom is to use traditional and seasonal vegetables indigenous to Kerala or the Southwest Coast of India, it has become common practice to include vegetables such as carrots, pineapples, and beans in the dishes. Traditionally, onion and garlic are not typically used in the sadya. The meal may be followed by chewing of ''vettila murukkaan'',

betel leaf Betel (''Piper betle'') is a species of flowering plant in the pepper family Piperaceae, native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious vine, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plants are cultivated for their leav ...

with lime and arecanut. This helps with the digestion of the meal and cleanses the palate.

Variations

Trivandrum Sadhya Trivandrum Sadhya or Thiruvananthapuram Sadhya( ) is a traditional vegetarian feast that holds significant cultural importance in Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the I ...

Valla Sadhya Valla Sadya is a celebration in the Hindu temple at Aranmula, Kerala, India. During the festival, the village conducts a Vallam Kali, snake boat race in the Pampa River, and there is a feast at the temple. The Valla Sadhya is conducted on Asht ...

Preparations

The sadya is usually served for lunch, although a lighter version is served for dinner as well. Preparations begin the night before, and the dishes are prepared before ten o'clock in the morning on the day of the celebration. Nowadays, sadya is often served on tables, as people no longer find it convenient to sit on the floor. Sourcing of items/ingredients for a sadya is an elaborate and careful process to ensure quality. The lighting of the fire to prepare the sadya is done after a prayer to Agni, and the first serving is offered on a banana leaf in front of a lighted

nilavilakku Nilaviḷakku is a traditional oil lamp, lamp used commonly in Kerala as well as in Tamil Nadu, called ''Kuthuviḷakku'' in Tamil (குத்துவிளக்கு) . It is called ''Kundulu'' in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It is call ...

as an offering to

Ganapati Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions are found throughout India. Hi ...

. In a sadya, the meals are served on a

banana leaf The banana leaf is the leaf of the banana plant, which may produce up to 40 leaves in a growing cycle. The leaves have a wide range of applications because they are large, flexible, waterproof and decorative. They are used for cooking, wrappin ...

. The leaf is folded and closed once the meal is finished. In some instances, closing the leaf toward you communicates satisfaction with the meal, while folding it away from oneself signifies that the meal can be improved. However, the direction the leaf is folded in can have different meanings in various parts of Kerala. The Central Travancore-style sadya is known to be the most disciplined and tradition-bound. There is usually an order followed in serving the dishes, starting from the chips and pickles first. However, different styles and approaches to making and serving the dishes are adopted in various parts of Kerala depending on local preferences. Aranmula Valla-sadya is the most celebrated sadya with over 64 items served traditionally.

Typical ingredients

The items include: Sadhya Items

* Rice: It is the main item in a sadya. It is always the Kerala red rice (semi-polished parboiled brown) which is used for the sadya. Kerala matta rice is sometimes used. *

Parippu Dal is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses. Dal or DAL may also refer to: Places Cambodia *Dal, Ke Chong Finland * Laakso, a neighbourhood of Helsinki India * Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India * Dal La ...

: A thick curry

lentil The lentil (''Vicia lens'' or ''Lens culinaris'') is an annual plant, annual legume grown for its Lens (geometry), lens-shaped edible seeds or ''pulses'', also called ''lentils''. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in Legume, pods, usually w ...

dish. * Sambar: A thick gravy made of

lentils The lentil (''Vicia lens'' or ''Lens culinaris'') is an annual plant, annual legume grown for its Lens (geometry), lens-shaped edible seeds or ''pulses'', also called ''lentils''. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in Legume, pods, usually w ...

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...

, vegetables like drumsticks,

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

, yam etc., and flavored with

asafoetida Asafoetida (; also spelled asafetida) is the dried latex (Natural gum, gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of ''Ferula'', perennial herbs of the carrot family. It is produced in Iran, Afghanistan, Central As ...

. * Rasam: A watery dish made of tamarind, tomatoes, and spices like

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

, etc. It is very spicy in taste and aids in digestion. However, in some regions Rasam is not counted as part of a sadya. *

Avial Avial (, pronounced ) is an Indian dish with origins in the state of Kerala of India. It is a thick stew of usually 13 vegetables commonly found in the Western Ghats and coconut, seasoned with coconut oil and curry leaves. Avial is consider ...

: A dense mixture of various vegetables and coconut, it is seasoned with

curry leaves Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internation ...

and coconut oil. *

Kaalan Kaalan ( ) is a Keralite dish from South India, made of yoghurt, coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The ...

: Made of

, coconut, and any one vegetable like "nendran" plantain or a tuber-like yam. It is very thick and more sour, and typically can last for a longer period owing to the lower water content. * Olan: A light dish, prepared of white gourd or black peas, coconut milk, and

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

seasoned with

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

oil. *

Koottukari or Koottu curry is a prominent dish in the "Sadhya" of Kerala, south India. It is a yellow curry featuring one or two vegetables such as banana and coconut, and has a hot and sweet taste. Kootu curry is a thick curry made with vegetables and ...

: Vegetables like banana or yam cooked with

chickpea The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual plant, annual legume of the family (biology), family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, cultivated for its edible seeds. Its different types are variously known as gram," Bengal gram, ga ...

s, coconut and black pepper. * Erissery: A thick curry made from pumpkin,

black-eyed pea The black-eyed pea or black-eyed bean is a legume grown around the world for its medium-sized, edible bean. It is a subspecies of the cowpea, an Old World plant domesticated in Africa, and is sometimes simply called a cowpea. The common commerci ...

s and coconut. *

Pachadi A chutney () is a spread typically associated with cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt, or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion, ...

: Sour curry made of curd and usually

cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables. * Sweet

: A sweet form of Pachadi, made with pineapple, pumpkin or grapes in curd. The gravy masala comprises coconut ground with cumin seeds and green chillies. * Pulisseri: A sour, yellow-coloured thin curry made with slightly soured

yogurt Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...

and cucumber. A sweet variant called Mampazha-pulissheri replaces cucumber with a combination of ripe mangoes and

jaggery Jaggery is a List of unrefined sweeteners, traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, North America, Central America, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of Sugarcane juice, cane jui ...

. *

Injipuli Injipuli is a dark brown sweet-sour and spicy pickle made of ginger, tamarind, green chillies and jaggery mainly prepared in Kerala during Onam. It is also a part of Tamil Nadu cuisine. It is also known as puli inji in some parts of Kerala, Sou ...

: A sweet pickle made of ginger, tamarind, green chilies, and jaggery, also called Puli-inji. *

Thoran Thoran (pronounced ); or upperi in Northern Kerala is a class of dry vegetable dishes combined with coconut that originated in the Indian state of Kerala. This common dish is usually eaten with rice and curry and is also part of the tradition ...

: A dish of sautéed vegetables such as

pea Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum' ...

green bean Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean ('' Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedali ...

s, raw

jackfruit The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the Common fig, fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in d ...

, carrots, or

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...

(usually) with grated coconut. *

Mezhukkupuratti Mezhukkupuratti is a style of preparation for vegetarian dishes in Kerala (especially in Central Travancore) where the vegetable is stir-fried with spices. Chopped onions or shallots may also be used. Usually the dish is prepared from any of th ...

: A style of preparation for a vegetarian dish where the vegetable is stir-fried with spices. Chopped onions or shallots may also be used. *

Achaar South Asian pickles are a pickled food made from a variety of vegetables, meats and fruits preserved in brine, vinegar, edible oils, and various South Asian spices. The pickles are popular across South Asia, with many regional variants, nativ ...

: Spicy

pickles Pickle, pickled or Pickles may refer to: Food * Pickle, a food that has undergone pickling * Pickled cucumber * Pickle, a sweet, vinegary pickled chutney popular in Britain, such as Branston Pickle, also known as "sweet pickle" or "ploughman's ...

of raw

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

(

Mango pickle Mango pickle is a variety of pickle prepared using mango. It is very popular in South and Southeast Asia. These sour/spicy pickles are also available commercially. Varieties The pickling process in India differs from other regions mainly d ...

lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

, ( Narangakari) etc. * Pappadam: Made with lentil flour, it is paired with rice and can be eaten as an appetizer. * Sharkara upperi:

Banana chip A banana chip (sometimes called banana crisp) is a deep-fried or dried, generally crispy slice of banana. It is usually made from firmer, starchier banana varieties (" cooking bananas" or plantains) like the saba and Nendran cultivars. It ca ...

s with jaggery. * Kaaya Varuthathu: Banana chips. *

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

: A ripe banana is often served with the sadya to be eaten with the dessert, Payasam. *

Chammanthi podi Chammanthi Podi is a dry condiment and chutney from the South Indian state of Kerala. Usually, regular coconut chutneys would spoil the same day without refrigeration, so making Chammanthi Podi was a way to preserve the chutney for months. To ...

: coconut powder served as a dry condiment or chutney. * Sambharam, also referred to as moru: A drink made from salted buttermilk with green chilli, ginger, and curry leaves, it is drunk to improve digestion and is typically served near the end of the meal. * Kadumanga: Sliced mango pickle. Usually served as the third condiment of the sadya. These side dishes are followed by desserts like Pradhaman and Payasams.

Pradhaman

''Pradhaman'' is a sweet dish in the form of a thick liquid; similar to

, but with more variety in terms of ingredients and more elaborately made. It is made with white

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

or jaggery to which coconut milk is added. The main difference between a pradhaman and a payasam is that the former uses coconut milk, while the liquid versions of payasam use cow's milk. * Palada pradhaman is made of flakes of cooked rice, milk, and sugar. * Pazha pradhaman is made of cooked "nendra" plantain or banana in jaggery and coconut milk. * Gothambu pradhaman is made of broken

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

. * Parippu pradhaman is made of

green gram The mung bean or green gram (''Vigna radiata'') is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract Green Mung Bean Extract Powder Phaseolus aureus Roxb Vigna radiata L R Wilczek. MDidea-Extracts P ...

. *

Chakka prathaman Chakka prathaman is a traditional ''payasam'' (pudding) of Kerala, India. Typical preparation The main ingredients of chakka prathaman are chakka varattiyathu and jaggery. Chakka varattiyathu is made by cooking finely chopped pieces of Chakka C ...

is made of jackfruit. *

is made of rice-ada (Rice flakes). * Kadala pradhaman is made from black gram.

References

External links

* {{commons category-inline, Sadya Appetizers Eating_parties Indian cuisine Kerala cuisine Lunch Meals Serving and dining Singaporean cuisine Sri Lankan cuisine Onam