Places to enjoy an Onam feast in the UAE

Here are the restaurants where you can indulge in the culinary specialties served during the Hindu harvest festival

The Onam feast typically consists of 25 or more items served on a banana leaf. Jeff Topping / The National

Onam is the most important festival of the state of Kerala in India. The 10-day summer harvest event is celebrated to welcome Mahabali, a mythological king who sacrificed his life for his people.

The "sadhya", or banquet in Malayalam, traditionally offers 28 vegetarian items served on a banana leaf, though the number of tasty morsels on offer across restaurants in the UAE may vary.

Typical dishes include: mango chutney, banana chips, rasam, sambhar, cabbage thoran, coconut-based curries such as avial, plantain, red rice, pickles and payasam, a dessert of vermicelli, sweetened milk, jaggery and dried fruit.  Here is a selection of restaurants in the Emirates where you can sample this feast.

Dubai

• Nalukettu, Dubai Grand Hotel — 24 dishes
• Kadavo Restaurant — 24 dishes
• Malabar Paris Restaurant — 30 dishes
• Palm Grove, Marco Polo Hotel — 25 dishes

Abu Dhabi

• Calicut Notebook — 25 dishes
• Ruchi restaurant – 26 dishes

Sharjah

• Thakkaram — 30 dishes
• Family Palace restaurant — 29 dishes

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