BENGALURU: The air of August feels special every year. After months of blistering heat and a pause in celebrations, the festive cheers start erupting this month. With each festival comes a sense of community, and food is the glue that brings people together. As our neighbouring state of Kerala and our Malayali friends in all parts of the world gear up to celebrate Onam in two weeks, even the non-Malayalis are looking forward to the festivities, especially the sumptuous sadhya.
Media professional Shobha Pillai Coutinho noticed this enthusiasm and love for sadhya by people from other communities. While waiting to feast on a sadhya, she is often flooded with requests for recipes. “Whenever I come across people in Mumbai or when I travel, and we talk about South Indian food, they resonate with sadhya. They love it so much that they ask why it is only available for Onam or Vishu, and they ask me for recipes. I thought why not give the recipes my grandmother and mother used to make,” begins Pillai Coutinho.
This thought gave birth to Aaharam – Sadhya - A Perfect Culinary Legacy from God’s Own Country, a book on sadhya (priced at `1,199), under the brand name Backwaters Chechie. The recipe book which was launched in December 2022, has the recipes of all 26 dishes that go into a sadhya along with health benefits and tips, a picture of a sadhya on a banana leaf explaining what item goes where the order of serving. In almost nine months, the book has sold several copies. Pillai Coutinho is thrilled with the response and her purpose of bringing out this book seems to be served. “For this Onam, many people who have purchased the book have called saying that this time they are going to try making the sadhya, albeit on a small scale,” she says.
Sadhya is a banquet of dishes made daily in a Keralite’s home, from olan to avial and crunchy chips. Aaharam brings to the table the flavours from Pillai Coutinho’s ammumma’s kitchen in Mavelikara. The book, Pillai Coutinho dedicates to her mother who didn’t allow her to cook but inspired her to. A tribute to her roots and the women who blessed her with the art of cooking came to fruition with the support of her Kerala food-loving Mangalurean husband Lancy Coutinho, and her children Joshua and Jadyn. Though the flavours of the sadhya differ in every district of Kerala, Pillai Coutinho has followed the Alleppey way.
“Before I compiled the book, I did try out a lot of sadhyas. From the 22-odd I tried, I felt there is nothing to match my authentic sadhya,” she says, adding that her style has a balanced flavour palette and is not bland.
The creative director for the 64-pager is Pillai Coutinho’s Radhika Tipnis and the editor is Sugatha Menon. The photos stand out in the book and invite readers to try their hands at a dish or two. “I prepared the dishes over a Saturday and Sunday and we set up the photo shoot at my house. We would send the images to my friend Radhika, who is in Singapore, for suggestions,” she shares.
While Aaharam has built quite a fan base in the US, Australia and many other cities, just through word of mouth, Pillai Coutinho is already neck-deep in two projects – a non-vegetarian sadhya book and prepping for Onam. “I hope to release the non-veg sadhya book by December. It is almost ready with around 22 recipes made of fish, chicken and prawns,” she adds.