What sets the Onam sadya apart is its sheer abundance — a lavish multi-course meal served on a fresh banana leaf. From sweet to savoury, curry to crunch, it offers a variety of flavours and textures. Yet, there could be that one dish that makes you love theOnam sadya a little more — something that brings back a delicious memory or simply tickles the tastebuds!

MetroPlus speaks to celebrities on their favourite picks from the sadya.

Rajashree Warrier

Bharatanatyam exponent and musician

Sambar and inji curry [some call it inji puli]. I consider sambar a complete dish because of the ingredients that go into it — the vegetables, parippu (dal), blend of spices… It is so rich in nutrients. I prefer it in gravy form and I can even have rice with just sambar. As for inji curry, I call it a dish that gives the navarasa effect when it comes to taste. Sweetness of jaggery, tanginess of tamarind, and spiciness from ginger and green chillies make it so yummy. I love jaggery and so there is a special love for this dish. But I know that the Travancore version does not use jaggery. I cannot imagine my inji curry without its sweetness.

Parvatish Pradip

Composer

The ada pradhaman that my father prepares and my mother’s parippu curry and pineapple pachadi. I am a Malayali born and brought up in Bhopal and my family has always relished the sadya during Onam in the company of around 100 people in our neighbourhood. The full course sadya is prepared at my home. Besides my parents and brother, neighbours, most of them north Indians, help with cutting and chopping vegetables. The pradhaman is prepared the traditional way with the ada cooked in coconut milk. We would grate 50-60 coconuts and three extracts of coconut milk go into the payasam. It is not easy to get the right consistency and that is why it is my favourite. The parippu my mother makes is the semi-gravy type cooked with grated coconut and it tastes yummy with a dash of ghee.

Dinjith Ayyathan

Filmmaker

The whole idea of sadya excites me, may be because I have a preference for vegetarian dishes although I eat a lot of non-vegetarian as well. I have a lot of favourites — avial, olan, koottu curry, sambar, kaalan, and pachadi [which is kichadi in some places]. I like the avial that has curd going into it to give the tangy taste. That’s how I have it at home [in Thalassery]. Among the vegetables that go into it, I love carrots and drumstick. And I always ask for multiple serving of avial at any sadya! My wife is from Palakkad and I like their avial also. It has a Tamil Nadu touchl, since her family has her roots across the border.

I find olan such an appealing dish. It looks so humble — cucumber cut into thin slices and cooked in coconut milk with green chilli giving it slight spiciness. Koottu curry that I like has kadala (black chickpea), chena (elephant yam) etc cooked in roasted coconut paste. Sambar I love is the one prepared with roasted coconut paste. I am particular about having carrots and beetroot in my sambar. It has to be slightly thick and brownish in colour. The taste goes to another level when a small piece of vellam (jaggery) is added to it. Pachadi/kichadi I relish is the one with vellarikka (yellow cucumber).

Poornima Indrajith

Actor-designer

Of all the dishes on the sadya leaf, I would always pick the fruit pachadi as my favourite. It is a pop of flavour — yogurt, coconut, spice and fruit all complementing one another perfectly. Pineapple and banana are the popular versions and what I love about the curry is the balance between the sweet and tangy flavours. It breaks the monotony of the spicy curries. It is simple, yet very nuanced. For each of my Onam collections, I have dipped into the nostalgia that the season brings and the food is an anchor to all of those memories.

Then comes the payasam, which to me, defines the quality of the sadya. It is a sweet ending to a grand feast and it almost always leaves my heart feeling full. The rich, creamy palada is edible art served on a leaf. Though I thoroughly enjoy the sadya, I particularly look forward to these two elements.

Shelvin James

Actor-content creator

In the sadya, even though there are many popular choices, like sambar and pulissery, I love the parippu curry the most. My favourite is the one that we make at home in Kottayam. In Kochi, where I am currently settled, I often search for places, which serve a good parippu curry and try out different spots. It is also a shame a that not all restaurants serve them regularly. However, I do know one place where I usually have lunch, where they provide the lentil dish as an option.

Published - August 21, 2026 02:10 pm IST