Onam - The Festival

 I spent the last few days documenting the recipes that are considered staple for the Onam meal. But what is Onam? Onam is a cultural festival celebrated in the Southern Indian state of Kerala to mark the end of the monsoons and start of the harvesting.  It is a festival that has its roots in Hindu mythology but is celebrated by Hindus, Muslims and Christians alike.  And if you are a Keralite living overseas, you would celebrate it with equal fervour and live over your memories while creating new ones for your children.  This blog is for my Aussie friends - to give them a quick run down of the festival and its significance.

Some Elements of Onam:

The Legend: 

Legend has it that King Mahabali, the benevolent and much loved ruler of Kerala, incited the jealousy of the Gods - who wanted him overthrown.  So Vishnu, one of the Gods, dressed up as a poor dwarf Vamana and went to the King begging for alms. The generous King offered him whatever he wanted and Vamana requested 3 paces of land.  It was a strategic request, knowing fully well the magnanimous king would say yes.  

As soon as the king said yes, the dwarf grew in front of the kings eyes into a giant and claimed all of the earth in one pace and all of the skies in the second pace. As he lifted his leg to claim the third pace, the king bowed down his head so that Vamana could claim it as his third pace.  As he pushed the king down, he granted him one wish - and that was to visit his kingdom and his people for Onam each year.

The wish was granted and the people of Kerala look forward to their beloved king's visit each year.

 Athapoo - Flower carpet

Athapoo is a carpet of flowers that the women and children create in the front of their houses for the 10 days of festivities. Each day a new carpet is laid and on the last day is the biggest, grandest one of all.

My amma had a garden with over fifty varieties of hibiscus flowers.  Of course during Onam, her garden was the target for the neighbourhood children who would wake very early and go stealing flowers from the garden. Amma quickly got the hang of the situation and would wait under the bushes early in the morning with a thin bamboo stick - whoever dared to put a hand in would get a whack - no doubt about that! Ha ha!!! The crazy things amma did!!!

It is usually winter / end of winter in Melbourne when Onam is celebrated and I do not have many flowers in my garden.  We make do with whatever we have - and this year my daughter did a great job with geraniums, dandelions, parsley leaves and grass flowers.  I have put a lamp in the middle to be lit when we serve food.

Onam Sadya:

The Onam sadya is the feast which is vegetarian and  showcases the bountiful harvest of the season.  It is traditionally served on fresh banana leaves.  There is an order in which food is served and eaten - I am not very good at remembering the rules but I follow google and do my best!

The rice used traditionally is the Kerala matta rice, but I have just used Basmati rice.  I bought the banana chips, sweet banana chunks and papadams from our local Indian grocer. All other recipes are listed below with links:

Avial: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/09/avial-mixed-vegetable-curry.html 

Olan: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/09/olan-cow-peas-with-ash-gourd.html

Beetroot pachadi: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/search?q=Beetroot+pachadi

Erissery: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/08/mathanga-van-payar-erissery-pumpkin-and.html

Mezhukkupuratti: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/09/cabbage-mezhukkupuratti-cabbage-stir-fry.html

Koottu Curry: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/09/koottu-curry-yam-and-raw-banana-with.html

Lime Pickle: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/08/yellow-lime-pickle-3.html

Ginger Pickle: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/08/inji-puli-ginger-tamarind-relish.html

Mango Pickle: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2017/08/green-mango-relish-kadugu-maanga.html

Parippu: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/09/cherupayar-parippu-mung-bean-lentil-dal.html

Sambar: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/07/sambar-mixed-vegetable-soup.html

Pulissery: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/09/pineapple-pulissery-pineapple-yogurt.html

Rasam: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2019/05/tomato-rasam.html

Moru:  http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/09/moru-sambaram-spiced-buttermilk-drink.html

Payasam: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/07/payasam-vermicelli-pudding.html

Other elements of Onam:

Pulikkali - where men dress up as tigers and dance to the beat of the drums

Thiruvathirakkali: Women dance around the athapoo in their beautiful Kerala saris

Vallamkali: Snake boat races - the men compete for the Nehru Cup Trophy

Handloom and Handicraft fairs: All over the State, you will see a display of handcrafted goods that can be bought direct from the artist.

I hope you enjoyed the little insight into Onam - and hope you will visit Kerala during the festivities. It is a sight to behold and an experience you will never forget.