Onam is the harvesting festival of the great State of Kerala. Keralites, all around the world, celebrate Onam with the traditional Onam feast and other cultural activities. The typical Onam feast is pure vegetarian and may consist of the following items:

• Pickles
• Pappadam
• Plantain Chips
• Thoran
• Aviyal
• Olan
• Erissery
• Kichady
• Pachady
• Rice
• Parippu
• Sambar
• Rasam
• Pulissery
• Payasam

Usually a banana leaf is used as the plate. All the curries (pickles through pachadi) are served on the leaf. Then the main dish, rice, is served. The first course is parippu, butter and pappadam. The next course is sambar over rice. Next comes the payasam, which is not mixed with the rice. Rasam and then pulissery over rice follows. The feast is completed with serving the yogurt over the rice. Optionally a banana may also be served with the feast.