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Special Onam feast on offer

DUBAI — It is going to be a day of some lip-smacking strictly traditional Malayalee dishes today. With Onam, one of the biggest festivals in the Indian state of Kerala finally knocking the doors today, most of the South Indian restaurants here in Dubai have got a special treat for their visitors.

Moreover, the families staying here have also planned to celebrate the festival in its traditional form. But then it is the restaurants who are hoping for a bumper sale. Most of them have replaced their usual menu with a new one consisting of the best of Malayali food just for today.

As Sabastian, the manager of Vrindavan Restrauant in Deira. said, "We are fully prepared for Tuesday. And it is a good feeling too. We have been living in Dubai for a long time and these festivals always make us a bit homesick. So we try to celebrate the festival here in a big way so that the people come and get the feel of Kerela."

The restrauant has got a whole new list of menu lined up. "On Tuesday we would have the Sambhar, Avial (mixed vegetables), Olan (a dish made from the juice of coconut), Mabayha (a sweet dish prepared from riped mangoes), Kaalam, Pachadi (made from cucumber and bananas), Paripu(dal), curd, three different kinds of Payasam. We are changing our usual menu for tomorrrow. We are sure people would love these traditional dishes," he added.

S. Saji, who ownes a food joint in Karama, said, "such festivals gives us a chance of interacting with so many others like us from Kerala. We will be serving a special menu for Onam," he said.

Teenagers and youngsters too have decided to celebrate Onam in style. "I am taking leave tomorrow. I will call up my family and friends in Kerela to greet them. Then I have also bought some new clothes. It is important to wear new clothes on Onam. We are going to have traditional Malayali food in one of the restrauants and then roam around the city. Tomorrow is going to be a fun filled day for us," said Raju, who is working with a bank.