Now enjoy Onam sadya abroad that comes straight from Kerala

For Onam 2024, Daily Delish has sent 50,000 frozen sadyas prepared in Kerala to stores across the USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand

Fresh carrots, cabbage, beetroot, raw bananas are swiftly chopped into cubes and then tossed in large urulis as they turn into thorans, avial, and pachadis. In another corner of the kitchen, pulses are being roasted, and coconut milk is being warmed for the payasam. 

What perhaps reads like a typical preparation of the grand Onam sadya, these dishes go into vacuum sealed boxes instead of being served instantly on the traditional banana leaf. Parayil Food Products — a frozen food manufacturer in Kochi — is at the helm of these preparations. Mathew Parayil, Managing Director, says that a large chunk of these meals are exported for those celebrating Onam abroad under their flagship brand, Daily Delight.

This year alone, his team has whipped up over 50,000 sadyas at their kitchens in Narianganam and Plassanal in Kottayam district, and Aroor in Alappuzha district. Prep work begins a month before Onam, and the dishes are prepared by their team of over 200 cooks. The food is then packaged and frozen, says Mathew.

The idea took shape about five years ago when Mathew decided to start exporting sadya kits, alongside his exports of packaged processed food and ready-to-eat frozen food. “Keralites living abroad have been missing the traditional Kerala sadya experience during festivals and we decided to tap into this market,” says Mathew, who launched the ‘sadya for five’ in 2020 during the Onam season. “In the following years, based on the market study, we understood there is a demand for the sadya in smaller packaging and in 2023 we introduced the ‘sadya for 3’,” he adds. These kits are stocked in supermarkets and Indian stores across the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

The sadya kits served with a paper banana leaf — comprising sambar, parippu curry, Angamaly mango curry, avail, kootu curry, ginger curry, chips, and payasams — have a shelf life of two years if stored below -18 degree celsius. “The dishes are prepared in their own traditional method combined with modern techniques. The products are packed in food-grade packaging and frozen before exporting them approx 40-50 days prior to Onam,” says Mathew, who also exports frozen food products such as dosas, palappam, upma, steamed banana, curries, and biryani. “There is no change in flavour of the dishes; buyers just need to thaw them at room temperature and then microwave the food.”

The Parayil Group has been successful in bringing traditional authentic dishes from India to “pravasis” all around the world, says Mathew. He adds, “Our sadya kits evoke nostalgia about one’s roots, homeland, and foods that one craves when abroad.”