Kerala Vishu Festival and Vishu Sadya Recipes

Kerala Vishu Festival and Vishu Sadya Recipes

Introduction

Vishu heralds the beginning of the New Year and almost all Hindu homes wake up to the sight of ‘Vishukani’, an auspicious occasion to welcome new beginnings. The festival falls typically in the middle of April that is the first day of the Malayalam month ‘Medam’. Vishu is a popular and significant festival among Hindu Malayalees. It is also an occasion to pay homage to Lord Krishna for all the blessings.

Vishukani

In every household ladies arrange the Vishukani on the night before the festival. Kani literally means ‘first sight’ and the lady of the house blindfolds the members of the family and leads them to witness the Vishukani and pray to God that the coming year be full of blessedness, wealth and prosperity. The Vishukani setting consists of auspicious things like golden cucumber, rice, golden lemon, metal mirror, religious texts, yellow konna flowers, coconut cut open, betel leaves, coins or currency notes, oil lamp and an image of Lord Vishnu. Another tradition followed is ‘Vishukaineetam’ where older family members gift younger members with money along with their blessings.

Now it’s time for the main agenda of the day, the traditional vegetarian ‘Sadya’ served on banana leaves. The Vishu Sadya is almost similar to a wedding sadya and the meals portray the splendour of cookery skills. The sequence of service is from left to right of the leaf. Looking for Vishu Sadya Recipes? If there is something that you are looking specifically for, reach out to us and we will definitely share those Vishu recipes in another post.

You can explore a few Vishu Sadya Recipes here that will help you celebrate the occasion:

Sharkara Varatti for Vishu:

Sharkara Varatti is an indispensable and most popular item in Sadya and almost all festive occasions. The traditional and tasty snack dish is unique with thick plantain chips, deep fried in oil and coated in jaggery mixture.

Try the link here: Sharkara Varatti | Sarkara Varatti Recipe – pachakam.com

Banana Chips for Vishu:

Banana Chips are a favorite crunchy and crispy snack, one of the indispensable dishes in Sadya. These traditional Banana wafers are undoubtedly the most popular snack all over India, especially in regions of Kerala, where these yellow bananas grow throughout the year.

Try the link here : Kerala Banana Chips Recipe – pachakam.com

Beans Thoran for Vishu:

The taste and flavor of beans blends very well with the flavor of grated coconut and other spices. Furthermore, Kerala Beans Thoran is a very tasty stir fry which is very popular in Sadhya dishes.

Try the dish: Kerala Beans Thoran Recipe – pachakam.com

Cabbage Thoran for Vishu:

Cabbage Thoran is a tasty, indispensable stir fry dish in all Sadhyas as well as regular meals. Moreover, while making the Thoran dish, you can go in for a lot of flavorful combinations but the unavoidable ingredient is coconut. Cabbage thoran is one such dish that has stolen the heart of Keralites. 

Try the dish: Cabbage Thoran – Easy To Make Recipe – pachakam.com

Puli Inji for Vishu:

Puli Inji is a traditional Kerala dish usually served for Sadya. Firstly, the dish is a mixture of ginger, jaggery, tamarind and red chillies. Secondly, the combination of these different ingredients grants the dish a sweet, sour and hot flavor.

Try the link here : Inji Puli (pachakam.com)

Avial for Vishu:

Avial is a scrumptious dish having its origin from the state of Kerala. This is a traditional dish with a mixture of vegetables, curd, coconut and seasoned with curry leaves and coconut oil.

Try this link here: Avial Recipe – How to Make Avial at Home (pachakam.com)

Mambazha Pulissery for Vishu:

Mambazha Pulissery is a sweet and sour Kerala curry dish cooked with ripe mangoes, yogurt and grated coconut. The combination of these three ingredients grants a lip smacking tangy flavor to the traditional dish. This is a delight for Kerala Sadya.

Try the link here : Kerala Mambazha Pulissery Recipe – pachakam.com

Mathanga Erissery for Vishu:

Mathanga Erissery is an integral dish in all Sadhya meals, especially during Onam and Vishu festive occasions. Yellow Pumpkin Erissery is tasty and nutritious, a combo of Black eyed peas and pumpkin. This is a traditional dish with pressure cooked Black eyed peas blended with pumpkin cubes and spicy ingredients. 

Try the link here: https://pachakam.com/recipes/yellow-pumpkin-erissery

Olan for Vishu:

Olan is a wonderful dish and you would have noticed people finishing off sadya with just an Olan dish. This is an authentic and traditional Sadya dish that is very tasty and very nutritious. The simple and homely Olan curry dish is one of the essential dishes in Kerala Sadya. The flavors are so delicate and just perfect that suits the Malayalee palate. The creamy curry base is rich with the fragrance of coconut oil.

Try the dish: Olan Simple And Easy Recipe – pachakam.com

Sambar for Vishu:

Sambar is a popular dish included in every Vishu Sadya. The delectable dish vary from region to region. Sambar is a mixed vegetable curry that uses the lentil dal as base.

Try the link here : Kerala Sambar With Video Recipe – pachakam.com

Rasam for Vishu:

Rasam is one of the most popular traditional dishes served for Sadya. The dish is healthy and helps to digest food fast. Furthermore, you can reserve Rasam to finish off the last part of rice in a Sadya.

Try the link here : Traditional Rasam Recipe – pachakam.com

Kalan for Vishu:

Kerala Style Kalan is a traditional styled ethnic dish very popular in Kerala Cuisine. Kalan is a simple and well favored vegetarian dish. It is a sour tasting semi thick curry dish prepared from buttermilk and vegetables like raw banana and elephant. Adding ground coconut in the end, balances the sour taste of curd.

Visit the link here : Kerala Style Kalan (pachakam.com)

Parippu Curry for Vishu:

Parippu Curry is one of the indispensable items in a grand Vishu Sadya. Usually Parippu Curry is served with little ghee on top. That serves as a tremendous combination.

Try the dish: Daal Curry (Parippu Curry ) Recipe – pachakam.com

Mango Pickle for Vishu:

Firstly, indulge in the vibrant flavors of Manga Achar, also known as Mango Pickle. It is a beloved condiment deeply rooted in South Asian culinary heritage. This traditional delicacy tantalizes the taste buds with its tangy, spicy and utterly irresistible taste.

Try the link here : Manga Achar | Mango Pickle With Video Recipe – pachakam.com

Beetroot Pachadi for Vishu:

Firstly, Kerala Style Beetroot Pachadi is a colorful and vibrant dish that showcases the rich culinary heritage of Kerala. Pachadi, in the context of Kerala cuisine, refers to a yogurt based side dish that incorporates various vegetables, fruits, or even lentils. Secondly, Beetroot Raitha stands out due to its unique combination of flavors and the striking hue it imparts to your plate. Moreover, accompanying this article is a detailed video tutorial that guides you through the process of making Beetroot Pachadi.

Try the dish: Kerala Style Beetroot Pachadi | Beetroot Raitha With Video Recipe – pachakam.com

Paal Payasam for Vishu:

Paal Payasam is a mouth watering dessert usually served after a grand Vishu Sadya. Moreover, Payasam comes in many different variations and Paal Payasam is one such variation prepared from rice, milk and sugar.

Try the link here: Sadya Special Paal Payasam | Unakkalari Payasam (pachakam.com)

Ada Pradhaman With Home Made Ada for Vishu:

Palada Pradhaman involves cooking ada pieces in the base of your choice and adding the necessary spices to flavour it up. Traditionally, this ada is made from scratch but now you get to buy them readymade in the stores and that’s what I did.

Try the link here: Palada Pradhaman Recipe – pachakam.com

Vishu Kanji for Vishu:

Here is another traditional dish prepared for Vishu Sadya. Furthermore, Vishu Kanji is a tasty porridge prepared from rice, white beans, coconut milk and garnished with grated coconut on top.

Visit the link here : Vishu Kanji – Vishu Special Recipe – pachakam.com

Happy Vishu !