AN ONAM RECIPE

In the good old days, when I was a child…..

Get up very early in the morning – no, not 7.30. I know that for many of you, 7.30 is very early, but what I am talking about is 4.30 or thereabouts. Go with grandpa to the family pond and take bath. When we reached back home, grandpa would do puja in the prayer room which would already have been  prepared by grandma who had got up still earlier and finished her bath. After the puja I would sit in grandpa’s lap and join in the prayers.

When we come out of the puja room, grandpa would give me Onappudava – a new small dhoti with golden borders (kasavu mundu as they are called). Then grandma would call and give me a small piece of jaggery which was part of the offering to God (naivedyam). Jaggery is very sweet, but these small pieces were sweeter as they were given with so much love.

By this time the sun would be peeping out of the clouds and eastern sky would be painted in different hues. We children (usually Achu from the servants’ home, who was my loyal companion, would accompany me) would go out into the estate and pluck fresh flowers. We would make a small pookkalam in the front yard and rush to the central courtyard where my young aunts would be making intricate patterns with rice batter. The clay ingots called mathevars, representing Trikkakkarappan, Mahabali etc. are installed in the middle of these patterns. We knew the story of King Mahabali through Grandma’s tales and we believed all the rituals happening around were part of welcoming King Mahabali.

Uncles would take 'Villu' (a bow with a flat palm base and a thin rigid bamboo in place of string; you take another small bamboo stick and strike on the rigid string. With the right tension on the string, one can play great rhythmic patterns) and play rhythms on it. I had a small 'villu' of my own.

Normal breakfast in our house was rice porridge (kanji) with ghee and pickles or sometimes upma, idli etc. But on the festive occasions we would have something different. For Onam days, which stretched for 12 days (hastha to shatabhissa – aththam to chathayam in Malayalam) the main items for breakfast used to be steamed banana (the big plantains)pieces, variety of chips, papad etc.

We would go out to play and would be called back for lunch. Though reluctantly leaving the play, we would come back eagerly to partake the sumptuous traditional Onassadya.

Ladies from neighboring houses would come to our house after lunch and they would join my mother and aunts in kaikottikkali. They would indulgently baby-talk to me as I match steps with them and I would play upto it.

We will eat more bananas and chips, go out to play again. After coming back grandpa takes over. Bath, Puja, prayers and yes, dinner......

This was the ONAM Recipe of my childhood.... Yummy, no?