Onam 2025: Top 3 Delicious Recipes for Your Festive Sadya

Onam, the vibrant harvest festival of Kerala, is celebrated with unparalleled enthusiasm, bringing families and friends together for a grand feast known as the Onam Sadya. This traditional vegetarian spread, served on banana leaves, is a culinary masterpiece featuring a symphony of flavors—sweet, sour, spicy, and creamy. As Onam 2025 approaches, set for September 5, elevate your festive feast with these three unique yet authentic recipes: Golden Payasam Tartlets, Moru Curry, and Hot Sambar. These dishes, curated from top chefs, blend tradition with a modern twist, ensuring your Sadya stands out while staying true to Kerala’s rich culinary heritage. Whether you’re hosting a grand gathering or a cozy family meal, these recipes will make your Onam celebration unforgettable.

Why Onam Sadya Is a Culinary Celebration

The Onam Sadya is more than just a meal; it’s a cultural emblem of Kerala’s harvest festival, honoring the mythical King Mahabali. Typically featuring 12 to 64 dishes, the Sadya is a vegetarian feast that balances flavors and textures, from crispy banana chips to creamy payasams. Served on a fresh banana leaf, each dish has a designated place, creating a visually stunning and flavorful experience. The recipes shared here—Golden Payasam Tartlets, Moru Curry, and Hot Sambar—are perfect for adding a gourmet touch to your Onam 2025 feast while keeping the preparation manageable for home cooks. These dishes incorporate traditional ingredients like coconut, jaggery, and curry leaves, ensuring authenticity with a modern flair.

Recipe 1: Golden Payasam Tartlets

This innovative recipe by Chef Vikas Swadesh Seth from BLVD Club by Embassy transforms the classic moong dal payasam into elegant tartlets, combining the richness of Kerala’s traditional dessert with a contemporary presentation. The buttery tart shells, filled with creamy payasam and topped with caramelized bananas, offer a delightful contrast of textures and flavors, making it a showstopper for your Onam Sadya.

Ingredients for Golden Payasam Tartlets

For Tart Shells:
- Refined flour: 150 g
- Butter (cold, cubed): 75 g
- Powdered sugar: 75 g
- Cold milk: 15 ml
- Pinch of salt
For Moong Dal Payasam Filling:
- Split yellow moong dal: 100 g
- Jaggery: 200 g (melted in ½ cup water & strained)
- Thin coconut milk: 400 ml
- Thick coconut milk: 200 ml
- Ghee: 2 tbsp
- Cashew nuts: 15–20
- Raisins: 15–20
- Grated coconut: 2 tbsp (desiccated, lightly roasted)
- Cardamom powder: ½ tsp
For Caramelized Banana Topping:
- Banana: 2 large, sliced
- Jaggery: 3 tbsp
- Ghee: 1 tbsp
For Finishing and Garnishing:
- Whipped cream: 300 g
- Crushed roasted cashew nuts: 2 tbsp
- Berry dust (optional): 2 tbsp
- Berry tuile (optional)
- Micro greens (optional)

Method for Golden Payasam Tartlets

Step 1: Make the Tart Shells (25 minutes)
Rub cold, cubed butter into refined flour, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt until the mixture turns crumbly. Add cold milk gradually until the dough binds together. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 20 minutes. Roll out the dough, cut into circles, and line mini tartlet molds (4.5 cm diameter, 1.5 cm height). Prick the base with a fork to prevent puffing. Bake blind at 180°C for 12–15 minutes until golden. Allow the tart shells to cool completely.
Step 2: Prepare the Moong Dal Payasam (30 minutes)
Dry roast moong dal on low heat for 4–5 minutes until fragrant and lightly golden. In a pot, simmer the dal with 1 ½ cups of water for 15 minutes until soft and mushy. Mash lightly, add thin coconut milk, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in melted jaggery syrup and simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Add thick coconut milk and cook on low for 2 minutes. In a separate pan, heat ghee, fry cashews, raisins, and grated coconut until golden, then stir into the payasam. Finish with cardamom powder and cool until spoonable.
Step 3: Prepare Caramelized Banana (5 minutes)
Heat ghee in a pan, add banana slices, and sprinkle with jaggery. Cook for 2–3 minutes until the bananas are golden, caramelized, and glossy.
Step 4: Assemble Tartlets (10 minutes)
Spoon the moong dal payasam into the cooled tart shells just before serving. Top with caramelized banana slices, a quenelle of whipped cream, and crushed roasted cashew nuts. Garnish with optional berry dust, berry tuile, or micro greens. Serve at room temperature for the best flavor.

Recipe 2: Moru Curry

Moru Curry, a refreshing yogurt-based dish by Shilpa Kumar from Akshayakalpa Organic, is a staple in Kerala cuisine. Its tangy, spiced flavor complements the richer curries in the Sadya, offering a cooling contrast. This recipe, featuring baby potatoes and a fragrant coconut paste, is simple yet bursting with authentic Kerala flavors, making it an essential addition to your Onam 2025 feast.

Ingredients for Moru Curry

- Set curd: 500 g
- Baby potatoes: 200 g
- Fresh ginger: ½ inch
- Garlic: 4–5 cloves
- Curry leaves: for seasoning
- Coriander leaves: for seasoning
- Moringa leaves: few (optional)
- Mustard seeds: ½ tsp
- Cumin seeds: ½ tsp
- Ajwain: ¼ tsp
- Fresh coconut, grated: 2 tbsp
- Fresh coconut, finely chopped: 1 tbsp
- Fried gram dal: 2 tbsp
- Fenugreek seeds (roasted): 1 tsp
- Coconut oil: 1 tbsp
- Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
- Green chillies: 2 or 3
- Salt: as per taste

Method for Moru Curry

Boil the baby potatoes with a pinch of salt until tender. In a blender, grind fried gram dal, garlic, ginger, green chillies, cumin seeds, grated coconut, 2–3 curry leaves, roasted fenugreek seeds, turmeric powder, and two strands of coriander leaves (with stems) into a fine paste. In a clay pot or pan, heat coconut oil and fry the chopped coconut pieces until golden; set aside. In the same oil, splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain, curry leaves, and moringa leaves (if using). Add the ground paste and fry for a minute, stirring constantly. Add the boiled baby potatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool slightly. Whisk the curd until smooth and mix it into the cooled masala. Garnish with fried coconut pieces and fresh coriander leaves. Serve at room temperature alongside rice or other Sadya dishes.

Recipe 3: Hot Sambar

No Onam Sadya is complete without a steaming bowl of sambar, a tangy and spicy lentil-based stew. This recipe by Chef Vishnu V Nair, Manager – Speciality Chef at Eastern Bu, features a medley of vegetables and aromatic spices, making it a hearty and flavorful addition to your festive spread. Perfectly paired with Kerala’s signature matta rice, this sambar is a crowd-pleaser.

Ingredients for Hot Sambar

- Pigeon dal (toor dal): 100 g
- Curry cucumber: 100 g
- Snake gourd: 100 g
- Brinjal: 100 g
- Pumpkin: 100 g
- Potatoes: 50 g
- Drumstick: 40 g
- Shallots (madras onion): 80 g
- Turmeric: 15 g
- Salt: as required
- Tamarind: 30 g
- Coconut oil: 100 g
- Mustard seeds: 15 g
- Whole red chillies: 4
- Curry leaves: two sprigs
- Lady’s finger: 4 (diced)
- Tomatoes: 50 g (diced)
- Coriander powder: 40 g
- Asafoetida powder: 5 g
- Fenugreek powder: 5 g
- Cumin powder: 5 g
- Coriander leaves: 20 g

Method for Hot Sambar

Wash the toor dal thoroughly and pressure cook with 2 cups of water, a pinch of turmeric, and a drop of oil until soft and mushy. Mash well and set aside. In a pot, cook harder vegetables like drumsticks, potatoes, and shallots with turmeric, salt, and just enough water to cover. Add softer vegetables like brinjal, pumpkin, and curry cucumber later to avoid overcooking. Once the vegetables are nearly cooked, add tamarind extract and boil for 5–7 minutes until the raw smell dissipates. Stir in the mashed dal and mix well. In a separate pan, heat coconut oil and sauté coriander powder, asafoetida, fenugreek powder, cumin powder, and curry leaves. Add this spice mix to the boiling sambar. Sauté diced lady’s finger and tomatoes in coconut oil and incorporate them into the sambar. Adjust consistency with water if needed, ensuring it’s neither too thick nor watery. Boil gently for 8–10 minutes to meld flavors. For the final tempering, heat coconut oil, splutter mustard seeds, add dry red chillies and curry leaves, and pour over the sambar. Let it rest for 30 minutes before serving to deepen the flavors.