Restaurants are grappling with higher costs this year, with prices of vegetables and banana leaves rising by up to 40 per cent amid supply disruptions linked to the regional conflict.
Some UAE restaurants have already begun serving Onam sadyas (traditional Onam feasts), while others are preparing to cater to hundreds of thousands of diners during the main celebrations from August 26. This year, however, the festive meal is coming at a higher cost, with vegetable and banana leaf prices rising amid supply disruptions linked to the regional conflict.
On Friday, Calicut Paragon served sadya to more than 600 people as part of a corporate order, while Mabalar Tiffin House received corporate orders serving up to 800 people. Some restaurants also began offering the feast to dine-in customers from Saturday, August 21, including Malabar Street Food on Sheikh Zayed Road.
“We already have a lot of enquiries,” said manager Noushad. “Since we are among the few restaurants starting to serve sadya this weekend, we are expecting a full house.”
However, most restaurants are expected to begin serving the traditional feast from August 26, continuing through the long weekend to meet demand from Onam celebrations across the UAE.
What is Onam?
Onam is the annual harvest festival of Kerala and one of the state’s most important cultural celebrations. One of its highlights is the traditional Onam sadya, an elaborate vegetarian feast served on a banana leaf and featuring up to 30 dishes.
The meal is traditionally eaten by hand, often while seated cross-legged, with the dishes served and eaten in a specific order. It typically ends with payasam, a sweet, milk-based dessert.
This year, Onam will be celebrated on August 26, marking the culmination of the 10-day festival.
150,000 sadyas and more than 100,000 litres of payasam
The Lulu Group is mounting one of the largest Onam food preparations in the region, catering to more than 150,000 sadyas and over 100,000 litres of payasam across the GCC this year, according to V. Nandakumar, Director of Global Marketing and Communications.
“Demand has been very strong, with an excellent response to pre-bookings both in-store and online,” he said. “This is undoubtedly one of the busiest periods for our kitchens across the region.”
Preparations began weeks ahead of the festival. More than 100 chefs from across the group are working together under the culinary guidance of sadya specialist Pazhayidom Mohanan Namboothiri and celebrity chef Suresh Pillai.
To preserve the traditional flavours and authenticity of the feast, more than 2,500 tonnes of fresh ingredients are being flown in from India on specially arranged charter flights.
According to Nandakumar, the payasam festival is another major highlight of the group’s Onam celebrations.
“It will feature more than 25 varieties, including mango, jackfruit, ghee, ada and wheat payasam, and will run until August 30,” he said. “We also have a special range of Onam cakes, pastries, chips, ice creams and other festive favourites. People have already begun shopping for Onam across our locations.”
Like an orchestra
Sumesh Govind, CEO of Paragon Group of Restaurants, said his team expects to serve 25,000 to 30,000 sadyas across seven outlets.
For a gathering of 450 people, the kitchen uses more than 70kg of rice. Preparing the sadya takes staff around three to four hours, while cutting vegetables and pickling require another two to three hours and are usually completed the previous day.
Muhammed Anees, head chef at Malabar Tiffin House, compared preparing a sadya to conducting an orchestra.
“There is real labour, slow cooking and a lot of planning. It’s less like preparing a meal and more like conducting an orchestra.”
He said that with more than one million Keralites living in the UAE, demand for Onam sadya remains exceptionally strong each year.
“This year, with the long weekend holiday, we are expecting an even bigger rush,” he said. “So far, we don’t have plans to extend the days of sadya, but we will monitor demand and take a final decision.”
Increase in prices
On Thiruvonam day alone, the Karama branch of Calicut Paragon expects to serve around 4,000 people between 11.30am and 3.30pm. The restaurant will close for dinner to give its staff a break after the busy lunch service.
“Lots of multinationals enjoy Onam as much as Malayalis in the UAE,” he said. “The whole world comes to our restaurants to enjoy the feast. Koreans, Japanese, Europeans and Americans all come. They have even learned to eat with their hands.”
However, Sumesh said restaurants are dealing with higher operating costs this year.
“The price of vegetables has increased,” he said. “Banana leaf prices have gone up 35 to 40 per cent.”
The increase has been linked to the regional conflict, which has disrupted supply chains and pushed up the cost of fresh produce and other essential ingredients.
