Amid Ganeshotsav and Bandra Fair celebrations, Mumbaikars, who have their origins in Kerala, are getting ready to celebrate Onam on September 15. While visiting the temple and creating the pookalam, the rangoli made from flowers, is an important tradition, it culminates with the Onam Sadhya, or the Onasadhya, which is known to have over 21 dishes, that are served and eaten on a banana leaf. Most people may be intimidated by the feast but that doesn’t mean they cannot enjoy the dishes by themselves, according to chefs in Mumbai.

With a wide variety of dishes that include sweet, sour and spicy flavours – all of which come together to produce a delicious amalgamation of flavours, the Onam Sadhya is a feast that is hard to ignore, even if you are not from Kerala. It is not only defined by its flavours but also its colours that will leave you wanting more, as experienced by this writer on many occasions, while savouring the Sadhya, not only in restaurants but also homes of friends.

The Sadhya popularly has many dishes like raw banana chips, pickles, sambar and olan. mid-day.com spoke to Mumbai chefs, who share recipes for other dishes that are traditional beyond the common specials and will even elevate your experience to make it like one that is traditionally had by people from Kerala. They not only share recipes for Avial but also for Thakkali Kootu, Kootukari, Pineapple Pulissery, and a variation of the payasam made with jowar. The best part about the dishes is that they can definitely be eaten as a feast but more importantly separately with rice or rotis and that is what makes them versatile.