A team of 20 chefs fights against time to prepare 150,000 meals. sets for the sadya feast during the Onam harvest festival in Kerala. Each sadya consists of 20 different vegetarian dishes and requires the team to prepare at least a month in advance. This is a huge challenge and the responsibility for successfully completing it falls on Chef Mahadevan.
If we all work in harmony, we will achieve success
says Mahadevan, the chef.
We visited Vinayaka Caterers in Kerala to see how Chef Mahadevan and his team prepare such large quantities of sadya for Onam. Among the 20 dishes they prepare, one of the most popular is the palada payasam dessert.
— All Keralans, at least those living in Kerala, have tried our dessert. It is widely known and is our signature dish, boasts Mahadevan.
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Chef Mahadevan and his team prepare sadya for 20,000 people. people
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What does it look like to prepare such a large amount of sadya?
Preparing this dish is time-consuming and starts with making rice flakes from brown rice that is washed, dried and crushed. Coconut oil and sugar are then added to the rice. The mixture is placed in a banana leaf, which is rolled, tied and steamed.
– This allows the flavor of the leaf to penetrate into it. This is how the local flavor is achieved, says the chef.
The resulting rice flakes are pressed in the morning and set aside. Also in the morning, workers pour 120 liters of milk into a large pot and boil it.
— We boil the milk and it thickens. Then add rice flakes to it and cook. This is how palada is made. This process takes five to six hours. It is demanding and we have to do a lot of work, he explains.
Another popular dish in the Onam feast is sadya avial – a dish traditionally prepared with 13 different vegetables. At Vinayaka, avial is prepared in batches that can feed 500 to 600 people.
— The most difficult thing about making avial is the multitude of ingredients. If there is too little or too much of something, we have a problem – explains the chef.
There are many vegetables, so they are washed and chopped the day before cooking.
To make it, we use yam, moringa oleifera, cucumber bean, long beans, cucumber and cucumber gourd. To make an avial for 1,000 people, we need seven buckets of yam
says Mahadevan.
In Kerala, they cook for a month straight. All for one treat
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In the morning, the vegetables are added to huge pots and cooked over low heat.
—Controlling fire is a difficult task. We have to be fully focused. We need to watch and listen to what is happening. Avial will only be good if we give it our full attention. Cook it over low heat and add the ingredients. We have to simmer it on low heat when we add the coconut oil, he explains.
At this stage, cooks also add coriander, turmeric, salt, mango and sour curd. Then they cover the pot and steam it.
— When you open the pot, the sour curd turns into buttermilk. We have to drain all the buttermilk, says the man.
Once all the buttermilk has been drained off, the avial is ready for more spices to be added. Cumin paste, green chili paste and curry leaves are added. It's all mixed.
— Then add the grated coconut. Its pieces constitute the consistency of the dish. When all these ingredients are combined, our signature dish, avial, will be created. It is spicy, sour and salty. It's a balanced dish with everything, boasts the chef.
Achieving the right flavor is not easy
Each ingredient must be added in perfect proportions for avial to be good
– he explains.
Another popular dish is sambar, which also requires a day of preparation before cooking. Lentils are washed, soaked and then cooked. After cooking it, a mixture of spices including tamarind water, coriander, turmeric, asafoetida, green chili, curry leaves and jaggery are added to the pots. The sambar is brought to a boil and coconut oil and chopped vegetables are added.
Everyone in the team has their own task to perform
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— Some of the ingredients of sambar are: moringa fruit, cucumber persimmon, eggplant and okra, Mahadevan enumerates.
The distinct flavor of sambar, however, lies in the masala made from coriander, mungo beans, chickpeas, long chilies, chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida.
— Fry the ingredients, blend them and make a masala or paste. The whole thing is called fried or blended sambar. Rice goes best with sambar. It can be eaten with dosa pancakes or idli pancakes. It all depends on individual preferences. Sambar can be added to anything – he explains.
Chef Mahadevan's company has been organizing the sadya feast for 32 years. She started out cooking for groups of 50 to 100 people, but it turned into a daily operation serving thousands of meals each month.
— Suddenly, when we had to start cooking for 15-16 thousand people. people, our attitude has changed. My heart was literally pounding. Preserving the taste and quality of our dishes is a real challenge. We have to do everything perfectly. My father taught me that cooking is a sacred art. Like music, it is an art as wide as the ocean. We have to learn it every day. We have to “tune” ourselves like an instrument. We receive many offers, but we will not exceed a certain limit. If we wanted to do this, we wouldn't be able to give it our all, says the chef.
Today, Chef Mahadevan employs 20 staff during Onam to meet the demands of his customers.
20 chefs prepare a multi-course meal for 150,000 people
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We are like a family. In my company, there is no employer and no employees – everyone is an employee. We are all equal. We believe in it
Mahadevan explains
Feeding so many people is no easy task, but Chef Mahadevan remains humble when it comes to the art and craft of his work.
Regardless of what I have achieved, I am an ordinary person. My job is a blessing and I am just a part of it
– says.
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Banana leaves serve as plates
Once cooked, all dishes are packaged and taken to the dining room, where they are served in the same exquisite manner as they were cooked. Banana leaves are placed on tables and serve as plates. During a traditional sadya feast, the tips of the banana leaves must always face to the left of the eater. After spreading out the leaves, workers place dishes on them from left to right, and finally papadams, which resemble spicy crackers, are added.
Banana leaves serve as plates
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— It's impossible to serve all dishes on one plate. If we wanted to do that, they could all mix together. However, we can place them next to each other on a leaf, so each dish can be eaten separately, explains one of the employees.
“The key ingredients in sadya are rice, sambar, avial, kalan and olan,” says Mahadevan.
The smallest portions are also served on the left side, with larger portions closer to the right side.
“After serving the rice, you must serve sambar,” reminds the chef.
— You can only feel the flavor with sambar. When the flavors of papadam, paruppu, ghee and sambar combine, the whole thing tastes even better, smiles one customer.
— Sambar goes with everything. Any vegetable goes with it. Sambar is good for health and so is avial. It has a good, sour taste, says the employee.
Onam is a 10-day harvest festival that marks the first month of the Malayalam calendar and commemorates the return of the mythical King Mahabali from the underworld to his home in Kerala. His return is celebrated with floral art, traditional dances, boat races and an Onam sadya feast.
Admission to the Vinayak Onam sadya costs about $3. per person, but you can eat as much as you want
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Admission to the Vinayak Onam sadya costs about $3. per person, but you can eat as much as you want. During the meal, employees come to the tables, refilling the hot rice in the middle of the banana leaf and spooning more dishes.
Many Hindu communities in Kerala opt for a fully vegetarian meal, but other Hindu, Christian and Muslim celebrants – especially those in the northern part of the state – enjoy the feast by eating shrimp or fried beef curry.
The meal ends the same way it begins. Various sweet payasam puddings and aromatic, digestive paan are served.
The taste of the dessert is extraordinary. It gives us a lot of joy. It's delicious
– says one of the clients.
