Onam 2026: Where to eat sadhya in the UAE
For many Malayalis, no Onam celebration is complete without sadhya – the elaborate vegetarian feast traditionally served on a banana leaf, with nine to 30-plus dishes including curries, dal, pickles, poppadoms, banana chips and payasam. And in the UAE, where the Malayali community is nearly one million strong, there is no shortage of places to enjoy one. When is Onam? Onam , Kerala's most…
Onam, the most important harvest festival in Kerala, is celebrated with a grand vegetarian feast known as sadhya. The UAE, home to nearly one million Malayali residents, offers numerous dining options to partake in this traditional meal. Onam festivities run from August 16 to 26, with Thiruvonam, the festival's key day, falling on August 26.
Several restaurants across the Emirates serve sadhya throughout the Onam period, often extending celebrations to weekends. Many establishments require reservations due to the extensive and labor-intensive nature of the meal. For those unable to visit restaurants, Lulu Hypermarket offers a sadhya-in-a-box, containing 24 ready-to-eat items, including boiled palakkadan matta rice, sambar, khichdi, pachadi, thoran, koottu curry, and rasam, all for Dh38.90.
The meal can be pre-ordered online and at Lulu Hypermarkets in the UAE, with delivery between August 26 and 30.
Calicut Notebook, known for its South Indian fusion dishes and authentic Keralan cuisine, will serve a 26-item Onam sadhya at its branches across the UAE for just one day on August 26. Dh49 covers dine-in or takeaway. Punjab Grill, located in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, offers an extensive onam sadhya menu with more than 33 traditional dishes, including jaggery-coated banana chips and kala and raw jackfruit curry. The fine-dining restaurant charges Dh99 for the feast.
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