I didn't know that it's called Sambharam . Buttermilk has always been just morru at home. So now this fancy new name intimidates me a little, and I realise that I don't know my own food as well as I thought I did.
The Onam Ela Sadya at Enté Keralam is the back-to-basics version of vegetarian Malayali cuisine. Without the bells and whistles and abundant greasiness of coconut oil our food is known for, the sadya's simplicity can be refreshing.
The spread is light and healthy and well-worth it if you can't, or don't know how, to dish up all 28 components on your own.
The sadya here is specially prepared by Unnikrishnan Namboodiri. A priest-chef-ayurvedic doctor, he visits Chennai every year to fire up the vats for the festival.
My ela (the serving leaf) comes on a plate. The first course is rice and lentils, and we follow that up with generous servings of sambhar , pulissery and rasam .
The vegetables border the plate in the time-honoured order of eating. Beginning with the eruseri and kaalan (a yam and yogurt preparation), we move on to the avial (mixed vegetables), kichadi pachadi , and end with thoran (vegetable garnished with grated coconut).
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