Easy Onam décor ideas and sadhya recipes for those celebrating at home

Says Vidya Venugopal, a lawyer who grew up in Kerala but now lives between Mumbai and Delhi, “The option to have a non-veg sadhya at a restaurant, is not what I grew up seeing,” but it is something that she understands can broaden the cuisine’s appeal. This is echoed by Dharmesh Karmokar, owner of Thangabali, which has three outlets in Mumbai. He will host a repeat of last year’s Onam pop-up, planned with his friends Vinod and Sarah Jacob Nair (the latter who is a Syrian Christian), and adds that, “maybe we’ll get one or two non-veg dishes on the menu this year, but on an a la carte basis.”

Recipes:

Beetroot Pachadi 

Chef Dharmesh Karmokar, Thangabali

Ingredients
-        1 beetroot, grated
-        10 gms ginger
-        2 green chillies
-        50gm coconut, grated
-        5gms mustard seeds
-        140gms plain yogurt
-        1 sprig curry leaves
-        Salt (to taste)
-        10ml coconut oil

Method
1.    Cook the grated beetroot with a little water.
2.    Grind the grated coconut, green chillies, grated ginger half mustard seeds into a smooth paste with 1/4 cup curd.
3.    Combine the curd and coconut paste with the beetroot.Then add the rest of the curd and salt and combine well.
4.    Heat oil for tempering in a small frying pan and add the curry leaves and mustard seeds, when the mustard seeds start popping, add it to the pachadi.
5.    Mix well and serve over steamed rice.

Method

1. To make the coconut milk, add two cups of hot water to the grated coconut, allow to sit for 5-10 minutes and then squeeze out the liquid through a muslin cloth.
2. To make the petha puree, in a small pan, heat the coconut oil, add the curry leaves, green chillies and onions. Once the onions are translucent, add the sliced petha and coconut milk. Season and cook for about 18-20 minutes till the petha is thoroughly cooked. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and sugar. Remove ¾ of this mixture into a bowl leaving the remaining in the pot. Allow to cool down and puree in a blender. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve and keep aside.
3. To make the pumpkin puree, heat butter in a pot and add the ginger brunoise, thinly sliced pumpkin and veg stock. Cook for 15 minutes till the pumpkin is thoroughly cooked. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and sugar. Allow to cool down and puree in a blender. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve and keep aside.
4. To make the curry leaf oil, heat the vegetable oil in a small pan on medium heat and add the curry leaves. Once the color of the curry leaves turn a slight shade darker, about 15-30 seconds, remove from the heat, season with salt. Allow to cool down and puree in a blender. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve and keep aside.
5. To plate, heat both the petha and pumpkin purees separately in two pots. Adjust consistency with water. The pumpkin component of the soup should be thicker than that of the petha.
6. Pour the two soups into the bowl simultaneously to form a divided appearance. Drizzle with the curry leaf oil.

Ada Pradhaman

Chef Jinson Varghese, Mahabelly

Ingredients:

For Ada
-        2 banana leaves, large
-        1 tbsp ghee, melted
-        1 cup rice flour, sifted
-        Water

For the Pradhaman
-        1 tbsp ghee
-        1 cup Ada (see above)
-        2 cups thin coconut milk
-        1/4 cup jaggery
-        1/2 tsp cardamom powder
-        1/4 tsp ground ginger
-        1/2 cup thick coconut milk

Method:
For the Ada
Prepare a steamer with water in its base. Cut the banana leaves into 5-inch squares, wilt them over an open flame so that they're easy to roll and grease with the ghee. In a small bowl, mix the rice flour with enough water to make a thick, pancake batter like paste. Spread batter enough for a thin layer on the leaf. Roll up each leaf and place in the steamer. Cook for 8-10 mins then open the leaves carefully and cut the steamed dough in 1/2 inch squares.

For the Pradhaman

In a deep skillet, add the thin coconut milk, jaggery, cardamom, ghee, ginger and simmer for 6-8 mins over low heat. Add prepared Ada to the simmering mixture. Add the thick coconut milk and simmer till the payasam is thick and creamy.