Onam Special: Know about Onam Sadhya, a healthy mixture of all good things

As we all are well aware, Indian festivals are incomplete without traditional food dishes and one such festival is Onam. This festival is celebrated with a colourful feast served on a banana leaf called Sadhya. Sadhya is the term used for the feast that is a part of the 10th day of the annual harvest festival Onam, which is also called ‘Onam Sadhya’. The feast is best known for its flavours and varieties of dishes. It consists of over 25 dishes including fried snacks, a variety of curries, pickles, sweets served alongside red rice.

It is the soul food for the Malayali community as the festival marks the beginning of a new year for Keralites to celebrate the new harvest of the year and Onam Sadhya is not just a festive meal. Let us discuss what makes Onam Sadhya a healthy mixture of all good things:

• Banana Leaf: The fresh banana leaves are full of a natural antioxidant called polyphenols. When warm food is served on the leaf, the antioxidant is absorbed in the food, which provides all necessary health benefits. The leaf is also rich in antibacterial properties, vitamin A, calcium, and carotene.
• Olan: This delicious dish is made with white gourd and coconut. Also, the gourd has a cooling and laxative effect and is also full of fibre. When cooked with coconut, which is high in calories and saturated fats and lauric acid, it becomes a wholesome meal and nobody could resist this delicious dish.
• Rasam: This dish is made with dal and tomatoes. It has a good mix of healthy ingredients and herbs like fenugreek, peppercorn, turmeric, and coriander seeds. All these ingredients provide sustainability, energy, and immunity to the body and also have anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and antioxidant-rich properties.
• Kalan: Made with yams, sweet potatoes, coconut, buttermilk, turmeric, chillies and many other herbs, Kalan is a traditional curry and a rich source of probiotics. Sweet potatoes and yams are starchy root vegetables, which help with gut bacteria.
• Kootu curry: This dish is made with chickpeas which is a rich source of protein. It has a low glycemic index, making it perfect for those with conditions such as diabetes and insulin resistance.
  Avial: The dish is made with a mix of various vegetables cooked with coconut. It is highly rich in nutrients and antioxidants.
• Red Rice (Matta Rice): Red rice is highly nutritious. Apart from being a solid source of healthy carbohydrates, matta rice is a great source of magnesium; thereby help in preventing the onset of heart disease. Controlled consumption also slows down the absorption of carbohydrates due to their fibre rich content.

Over to You:

Most of the dishes of Onam Sadhya are prepared with a slight pinch of asafoetida (hing) which increases the digestive properties of the dish. So, now you know Onam Sadhya is a mixture packed with all the health benefits along with it.