Onam is a celebration, among other things, of food, and the perfect occasion for a sumptuous vegetarian feast — the legendary sadya. Savya Rasa’s version is up there when it comes to lavish Onasadya spreads.
Since its opening over a year ago, Savya Rasa has cemented its position as one of the premier South Indian restaurants in Delhi. (The original is in Chennai, and they have another branch in Pune.) While they specialise in non-vegetarian fare, the Onasadya, as tradition demands, at Savya Rasa is completely vegetarian.
I had a chance to preview the sadya at Savya Rasa’s Delhi outlet. The sadya here is an impressive 30-item affair, so as soon as I received the invite, I started preparing myself mentally. When the time of reckoning came, I’m happy to report I was equal to the task.
Savya Rasa has presented their Onasadya beautifully, in a brass plate shaped like a banana leaf, in which a perfectly sized banana leaf is placed, before the food items start arriving in quick succession.
All the classic components of the sadya are there. These include injipuli, a pickle made with ginger, tamarind and jaggery and an Onam must-have like uppu or salt, as Chef George explains; upperi or banana chips; sharkara varatti or jaggery coated banana chips; thoran, which is a coconut-based vegetable stir fry; parippu or yellow lentil curry and so on. Indeed, all the classic Kerala vegetable dishes make an appearance: thoran, avial, eriserry, puliserry, kaalan, olan, pachadi, kichadi, kootu curry…I could go on.
All of this to be had with Kerala red rice and some piping-hot sambar. Accompaniments to elevate the meal include deep-fried, salted dehydrated curd chillies, parippu vada, mango pickle, and so forth. And, of course, some appalam to add crunch.
The desserts are traditional, Onam-specific offerings. There’s Poovan Pazham (Mysore Banana), Ada Pradhaman (rice and coconut payasam) and Pazham Pradhaman (banana payasam — which was a stunner).
The dishes that stood out for me were the inji puli, a pineapple pachadi, the mango curry, chammanthi (a coarsely ground chutney) — not to mention the banana payasam.
After that delicious burst of flavour in the mouth, all one could do was contemplate the world with some of Savya Rasa’s authentic filter coffee.
Sadya is available at Savya Rasa’s outlets in Chennai, Delhi and Pune from September 3 to 8.
Pricing: Chennai and Pune: Rs 1,099 ++; New Delhi: Rs 1,299 ++
Savya Rasa is also offering its Sadya at South Side Story, a South Indian Experience Festival being held on 4th September at NSIC Ground, Okhla, New Delhi. The event will offer a feast of South Indian flavours ranging from the must-experience sadya being curated exclusively by Savya Rasa, along with engaging experiences kalaripayattu, mundu draping, Kathakali dancers and much more. Sadya price for South Side Story: Rs 799+ (early bird offer).
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