‘Sadhya’ is the traditional meal of South India; meaning ‘banquet’ in Malayalam. Banana leaves are not easy to digest if eaten directly. But food served on them absorbs polyphenols from the leaves, so consumers get all the nutritional benefits.The leaf has antibacterial properties that kills germs thereby reducing the chances of one falling sick. Traditionally, consumers sit cross-legged in front of the leaf; on a mat on the floor. The banana leaf is placed so that the wider side is on the right hand side of the person eating the meal: you have to eat the food with your right hand. The wider end on right hand side makes it easier to take the side dishes and mix them with rice. The left end nests the less eaten items like pickles and chips.

Making your way through Sadhya

You begin by rinsing the leaf with a dab of water. The server will start serving the elements one by one. One pours and mixes delicious curries, subtly spiced with red or green chilies into rice. You eat this with a dry or wet vegetable. A typical sadhya includes items like rice, parupu (dal), toran and aviyal (dry vegetables), kootu (wet vegetable), kootan (curries like sambhar), rasam, pappadam, pachadi (yogurt), vada, banana chips, payasam (kheer), curd, buttermilk and condiments like fresh pickles made with mangoes, gooseberries or lemons.

Setting the Table, an exploration of eating rituals across cultures that goes far beyond four legs and a surface.

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