Onam Festival: History, Significance, Date, Dishes, Wishes

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Onam 2021: History, Significance, Date and More!


Onam 2021: Onam festival is not just about food and celebration, it is also a celebration of peace and benevolence!

Festival: Onam, also referred to as Thiru-Onam or Thiruvonam, is a very important harvest festival. Celebrated majorly in Kerala, this is the most popular festival in the state. Onam usually falls in August and September. This year, Onam falls on August 12 and will continue till September 23.

Festivals have a lot of history and significance attached to them. It has cultural as well as traditional values. And so is Onam. Onam, a 10 days celebration has a rich significance and is culturally and historically enriched. Here’s what you should know about Onam:

Onam Festival 2021: History and Significance

• As per the Gregorian calendar, Onam falls in the month of Chingam which is August – September. People celebrate Onam to honour a kind-hearted, benevolent demon King Mahabali, who is believed to return his kingdom during Onam time.
• According to Vaishnava mythology, King Mahabali had defeated all the Gods and was ruling in all three worlds. Unlike other demons, Mahabali was sweet and less torturous. People loved this demon king. Yet, the Gods felt insecured and asked Lord Vishu for interference.
• Lord Vishnu disguised as Vamana, a Brahmin dwarf went to meet King Mahabali. Vamana is supposed to be Vishnu’s fifth avatar. When the king asked for his wishes, Vamana replied with “three pieces of land.” The king granted his wish, and he grew in size, appearing before all the three worlds. When he was about to reach heaven, King Mahabali offered his own head and Lord Vishu was impressed by this act of benevolence. He granted his wish that he could visit his kingdom during the time of Onam.
• Hence, Onam is a celebration of the return of King Mahabali to his kingdom.

Onam and its Celebration
All the 10 days which are celebrated during Onam has their own significance and importance. Each day has its value and even after 10 days, some places still celebrate Onam.

Here’s a list of all the 10 days of the Onam festival:

• Atham, To celebrate the arrival of King Mahabali, people decorate their houses with yellow flowers and have Pookalam (flower rangoli). A new layer is added after each passing day.
• Chithira, The second day is usually deep cleaning of houses and making sure that everything is clean and neat. They also add another layer of flower in Pookalam. This day is highly auspicious for purchasing fresh vegetables, fruits and other provisions.
• Chodi, On day 3, people buy gold, clothes, gifts to celebrate Onam. People gift new clothes, also called Onakodi to each other.
• Vishakam, This fourth day marks the start of Onam Sadhya. Families start the preparation of Sadhya. The number of dishes differs from family to family but usually, families make 26 delicacies.
• Anizham, Aranmula Uthrattathi Vallamkali also called snake boat begins on the fifth day. This is the oldest river boat festival in Kerala. This marks the beginning of the Vallamkali, snake boat race.
• Thriketa, The office goers, school children, college students get off as Onam begins in a full swing. The Pookalam gets bigger after every passing day. This is the sixth day of Onam.
• Moolam, This is the seventh day of the Onam festival. Families and relatives visit each other and temples start serving Sadhyas. People also start enjoying traditional art forms likes Kaikottikali and Puli Kali (leopard masquerade dance).
• Pooradam, On the 8th day, statues of Mahabali and Vamana are taken around the house and are placed in the centre of Pookalam.
• Uthradom, It is highly believed that King Mahabali reaches the state on the 9th day. Hence, the festivities and the merriment begins. This is the most auspicious day and so, people start buying fresh vegetables and start cooking traditional meals.
• Thiruvonam, On the 10th day, people clean their houses, apply rice flour batter on the main entrance, dress up in traditional attire, saree and veshti (dhoti) and enjoy the Sadhya feast. People get together and play games, do activities together, celebrate and dance.

Sadhya – The Traditional Feast

• Sadhya comprises more than 26 dishes. It includes Avial (vegetables in coconut curry), Kalan (sweet potato and yam with coconut curry), Chor (rice) and all-time favourite dessert Parripu Payasam (kheer). Sadhya also includes pickles, dry curries, pappadam (papad), poovan pazham (smaller bananas) and a lot more!
• What are your plans for Onam?

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Onam 2021: What is Onam Sadhya And The Dishes That You Must Try!

Onam is a treat to the eyes as well as to stomach. Get Onam vibes wherever you are through Sadhya! Read on to find out!Onam: Sadhya and the Delicious Dishes You Must Try! Picture Credit: Unsplash

Onam 2021: Festivals are all about food and celebration. Relatives bringing in gifts, everyone all dolled up, families getting together and enjoying, good food and ambience. And so is Sadhya during the Onam festival. Onam celebration starts from August 12 all around the world. This festival is celebrated to commemorate King Mahabali, who was very kind-hearted and loved by all. He was believed to have returned to Kerala on Onam and this 10-days celebration is all about that. The Harvest Festival 2021 falls on August 21. The celebration which starts on August 12 will continue till September 23.

Onam steals the show. Women will be wearing traditional white saree with a golden border and men will be wearing veshti (dhoti). During the Onam celebration, the famous snake boat race vallam kali takes place. This is a water race boat. Coming to the food part, Sadhya is served on a banana leaf with more than 26 delicacies prepared with over 60 ingredients. Sounds tasty, right? It actually tastes heavenly and might give you and will leave you wanting for more.

Here’s a complete list of Sadhya and the dishes!

• Manga Curry, Also called raw mango curry. It is a traditional curry where raw mango is mixed with coconut milk. Try this curry with rice dipped in coconut oil to give you onam feels!
• Ellisheri, Ellisheri is a mixture of pumpkin, red beans and grated coconuts. Mix it with rice to enjoy. This is an important dish served during Onam Sadhya.
• Pulissery, This traditional Kerala dish has subtle flavours. It is made with vegetables of your choice right from pumpkin to cucumber with a good amount of grated coconut along with curd.
• Olan, This is made with white gourd or ash-gourd with black-eyed peas, coconut milk and coconut oil with ginger.
• Chenna Mezhkkupuratti, This dish is made with yam, cut in thin slices with boiled spices. Later, it is fried in coconut oil.
• Inji Curry, In most Malayali households, this is the first thing that is prepared which leads to the celebration of 10 days of Onam. This dish is made with ginger, tamarind and jaggery.
• Parippu Curry, Parippu is moong dal. This is prepared with coconut and other spices. This is a comfort zone for everyone. Eat this with rice and you’ll bless your stars.
• Chor, Chor is also called rice. This is an important part of Onam Sadhya. People in Kerala serve this with red rice. This is a perfect combination, chor with all curry and you’ll never forget this till eternity!
• Sambhar, Will any dish be ever complete without Sambhar? However, different families have different recipes for sambhar and they are cooked in different styles. Sambhar is essentially a lentil-based vegetable cooked with tamarind.
• Pachadi, This is a yoghurt dish that is either made with pineapple or bitter guard or with grated coconut.
• Morru Kachiyatha, If there is any favourite food for Malayali, it has to be morru kachiyatha. This dish is made by boiling curd with ginger, garlic, shallots and black sesame seeds.
• Avial, Just like sambhar, the entire Sadhya cannot be complete without Avial. Avial is a thick curry prepared with 13 common vegetables found in the Western Ghats with coconuts and curry leaves.
• Kichadi, This is dish is made with spicy yoghurt and any vegetables of your choice, starting right from okra to bitter gourd. This dish is delicious and will make you crave more!
• Rasam, Rasam, everyone’s source for digestion. Rasam has tomato, tamarind and curry leaves. Have parippu curry, rasam and chor. The best combination in the entire world!
• Kootu Curry, This dish is made with raw banans, kaala (black) chana and grated coconut. Unlike other dishes, this is not a liquid dish. This is a dry dish.
• Neyy, Popularly known as ghee in Hindi. Add a spoonful to your rice and there you go! Just perfect ingredient to make everything yummy!
• Inji Thayir, This dish is made with curd, black sesame seeds and spices. This dish is not complete without sliced ginger.
• Thoran, This is a staple Malayali dish prepared for every household. This dish does not require a proper vegetable. This is generally made with cabbage or carrots or even beans with grated coconut.
• Upperi, Upperi also known as banana chips are also served during sadhya.
• Sharkara Varatti, This is a Kerala style banana candy where raw bananas are deep-fried and coated in jaggery and cardamom, cumin and dry ginger are added as additional flavours.
• Pappadam, Pappadam also called papad is made out of rice flour. It is either fried or cooked until it becomes crunchy.
• Naranaga Curry, This is a lemon pickle to add extra spice to your Sadhya meal.
• Kaalan, This dish is made with yoghurt, raw banana or yam and has grated coconut.
• Poovan Pazham, It is essentially a smaller banana. Try mashing it well with Payasam (kheer) and pappadam to give an extra crunch.
• Palada Pradhaman, This is a sweet dish. It is made with milk, dry fruits and rice ada.
• Pazham Pradhaman, Just like mashing poovan pazham, payasam and pappadam, pazham pradhaman is done the same way. It is made with rice ada, thin coconut slices, jaggery and cashew nuts.

What are you waiting for? Go and try out all these dishes to give you and celebrate Sadhya wherever you are!