Onam special: Three Thiruvona Sadya recipes to add a twist to your traditional meal platter

Onam is just around the corner and while you decide to prepare for the festival to enjoy it to the fullest, you surely can’t miss the delicious Thiruvona Sadya served hot on a banana leaf which is considered to be special on Thiruvonam day.

Thiruvona Sadhya generally consists of a variety of traditional vegetarian dishes including Rice, Parippu, Pappadam, Avial (a dense mixture of various vegetables and coconut), Kaalan (made of curd, coconut, and any one vegetable), Thoran, including varieties of Payasams like Palada, Pradhaman, Palpayasam, and Semiya Payasam.

On this Onam, we bring you three traditional recipes by Executive Chef Suresh Babu of Clarks Exotica, which are easy to make. 

Mango Pradhaman

Ingredients:

Ripe mango – 6 nos

Coconut milk (1st extract) - 2 cups

Coconut milk (2nd extract) – 3 cups

Cardamom powder - ¼ tsp

Jaggery – 3 cups

Ghee – ¼ cup

Method:

Peel and chop the mangoes into small pieces. Blend it in a mixer to thick mango pulp and keep it aside. In a thick bottom pan, add ghee mix well and fry for five minutes stirring constantly. Add jaggery powder, mix well and cook, stirring until it has the consistency of a thick porridge. Stir in the second extract of coconut milk, bring to a boil, and continue boiling until it thickens a little more, stirring occasionally. Stir in the first extract of coconut milk, cardamom powder, and prepared mango pulp and remove from the heat. The consistency should be that of a thin porridge. Garnish with chopped mangoes and cashew.

Pazham Kootan

Ingredients:

Kerala banana - 500gms

Coconut oil – 4tbsp

Onion chopped – 150 Gms

Ginger julienned – 1 tbsp

Curd - 100 ml

Curry leaves – few

Salt – to taste 

Ground masala paste: 

Sambar onion – 50gms

Ginger chopped –1 tsp

Garlic chopped – 1 tsp

Green chili – 5 nos

Cumin seeds – 1tsp

Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

Black pepper corn-1 tsp

Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp

Coconut grated – ½ cup

Method:

Peel banana and slice into thick round pieces. Add water, just enough to check the bananas along with jaggery and turmeric powder; cook until the bananas become soft. Heat oil in a pan and add onions, curry leaves, and green chili fry until translucent. Mix in the ground paste and fry for two minutes, remove half the onion–spice paste from the pan and set aside. Add cooked banana ginger and salt to the pan and sauté till the banana is cooked. Mix in curd; curry leaves and ¾ cup of water and cook over low heat until oil separates. Stir in the reserved onion spice paste and remove from heat. Serve with rice, parotta, appam or Idiyappam.

Ramayyan Curry

Ingredients:

Coconut (only white part) – 1 cup

Yam roasted – 200 Gms

Curd – ½ cup

Curry leaves – 10 nos

Ginger chopped – 1 tbsp.

Green chili – 05 nos

Jaggery – 01 tsp

Tamarind pulp – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

Method

Roast the yam on a charcoal grill or gas stove whichever is available until it is cooked, remove the black spots from the yam and keep it aside. In a mixer jar, add grated coconut, green chili, curry leaves, ginger, jaggery, tamarind pulp, and curd, to make a fine paste. Add roasted yam to the prepared mixture and blend it well until it becomes a smooth paste. Season it with salt and the special Ramayyan curry is ready, it can be served as a side dish or mixed with the rice as a main dish.