Onam Sadhya And The Threads Of Kasavu At Kerala Quarters

Onam, Kerala’s harvest festival, is a time of floral carpets, boat races, and most importantly, the grand Sadhya. Served on a banana leaf, this festive vegetarian feast is an elaborate spread of flavours and textures, symbolising abundance and community. This year in Mumbai, Kerala Quarters is bringing that tradition to life in collaboration with visual artist Lakshmi Madhavan, creating a celebratory experience that resonates far beyond Kerala’s borders.

Bringing Kerala To Mumbai

Founded by Pankaj Gupta, Kerala Quarters is a restaurant that has been inspired by the diverse food of Kerala. His vision all along was to bring out the craze for food he had seen in the south. “In Mumbai, Kerala is usually put under the umbrella of South India. That does not justify the cuisine of Kerala. I wanted to dedicate a concept to Kerala, in its original form, without the finesse, and keep it rugged. We married with it the most unpretentious part of Mumbai, which is the Bombay quarters. That’s how Kerala Quarters was born,” he says.

Art, Memory, And Kasavu

For Onam Sadhya, ​​Kerala Quarters collaborated with Madhavan, whose textile-based art explores identity, craft, and memory through Kerala’s traditional kasavu, handwoven white-and-gold cloth. Madhavan works closely with weaving communities in Balaramapuram, reconceptualising kasavu as both material and metaphor for belonging, equity, and lineage. Her art, deeply rooted in personal and collective memory (especially the sensory remembrance of her grandmother’s kasavu saree), brings an emotional and cultural depth to the Sadhya celebration. Kerala Quarters brought to life two of the recipes by her grandmother. 

“For somebody who left Kerala quite long ago, the sense of identity is very complex. If there was one person who anchored me very deeply was my grandmother, my ammama. For me, my memory of Onam, of kasavu, and of food is very related to her. Her love language in a large way was food,” she recalls fondly.

For Gupta and Madhavan, this meeting was also a chance to gain a new perspective on each other’s culture. Gupta explained the vegetable and lentil driven cuisine of Banaras to Madhavan and I saw how intently he listened when the latter was explaining how the Sadhya was the only time all the women in her family got to be served by the men and eat first. I saw an exchange of culture and traditions right there on a Monday morning.

The Rhythm Of The Sadhya

When asked about the flow of the Sadhya, Chef Sudheesan PG explained that the meal is designed as a sequence of flavours, placed thoughtfully on the banana leaf. “First we start with salt, then comes pickle, lemon pickle, inji puli or pachadi, then kichadi. After that, aviyal, koottukari, thoran, and medikure tea. You can start with sambhar, but first you must add a spoonful of ghee. After sambhar, it’s rasam, and last, you end with payasam,” he explained.

This progression turns the Sadhya into an edible rhythm, a ritual that layers sour, spicy, rich, and sweet in a way that has been passed down through generations.

The Joy Of Eating That Lingers

I sat down to feast on an Onam Sadhya for the first time, and it was unlike anything I had ever tasted before. The dollop of ghee on top of my dal, the tanginess of the sambhar with rice, and ending it with the sweet comfort of payasam. I could not have asked for a better lunch.

Watching the beautifully dressed group of people next to me eat their food, while exchanging stories from different parts of India, I experienced the joy of a good meal right in front of me. And as I went back to the office, what stayed with me was that although the food might have looked too much for one person on the leaf, it did not induce the sleepiness that often comes after a heavy meal. It was a light joy that I carried with me all day. 

In a city where regional communities often carve out spaces to preserve traditions, for me, this collaboration stood out for its authenticity. For many Malayalis living away from Kerala, it is a reminder of home. For others, like me, it was an initiation into the generous spirit of Onam. The Kerala Quarters Sadhya not only celebrated a festival but also underlined the power of food to carry culture across geographies. In conclusion, the soft, green banana leaf became a canvas for shared heritage and festive joy.