As in every other story, there will always be those who panic at the last possible minute about making an Onam feast. Onam, the Kerala festival celebrated in August-September of every year, comes with an elaborate spread of curries and dishes along with rice. Here are a few tips to prepare a quick but delicious Onam Sadya without the fuss and stress of the kitchen.
1. Tips to make Onam meals easier: Veena of Veena's Curry World gives these tips that she says will come in handy for a beginner. She suggests preparing a few items on the previous night and leave the rest for the next day, adding that the older generation may not approve of it. Veena suggests making a list of items you need - small or big lists depending on the number of people you have. In this video she has chosen 21 items including the payasams and pickles. Veena's quick methods involve preparing vegetables needed for the various dishes together. For example carrots are needed in sambar and aviyal, and these she cuts in various shapes depending on the dish.
2. Three quick dishes to make a simple Onam meal: Ayesha of Ayesha's kitchen gives recipes of pineapple pachidi, vendakka (lady's finger) pachidi and instant vendakka pickle in this video. She calls it the Malappuram style Onam Sadya.
3. Basic Onam dishes that can be made quickly: YouTube channel Malayalaruchi gives recipes in a 21 minute video for pachadi, kichidi, aviyal, thoran, olan, kootu curry along with mango pickle, lime pickle, puli inji, parippu, sambar and pulisseri.
4. Fifteen easy-to-make Onam dishes: Easy Tasty Healthy shows step by step preparation of 15 Onam dishes from pickle to pachadi, without any narration. The ingredients are both listed in the video and shown.
5. Twelve Onam dishes in one hour: Chinnu's Family Kitchen, a YouTube channel, gives recipes for 12 dishes you can make for Onam within an hour. Step by step, the recipes are explained so that it makes it easy for beginners to follow.