Abu Dhabi: Restaurants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) owned by people hailing from Kerala are wooing customers by offering ‘Vishu Sadya’ with a scrumptious platter filled with traditional delicasies at low prices.
In view of the Ramadan fasting, most of these outlets take advance orders and supply the ‘sadya’ at home. At the same time, some restaurants serve the feast inside the building. However, there is a ban on having food in open places during daytime. Vishu Sadya will be available in a majority of restaurants on April 15 - the day of Vishu - while the feast would be served in a few outlets on the next day also.
The sadya platter would include upperi, kondattam, sharkara varatti, lemon/mango pickle, puliyinji, pachadi, kichadi, thoran, koottukari, parippu, pulisseri, erisseri, kalan, olan, sambar, theeyal, curd, rasam, mezhukkupuratti, boiled rice, several types of ‘payasams’ and salt. For parcels, the banana leaf on which the sadya should be served also will be supplied. The price of a sadya ranges from 25 to 45 United Arab Emirates Dirhams (AED) depending on the restaurant.
At Lulu Hypermarket, the price is AED 28.90 if booked in advance. The prices at other major restaurants are AED 42 at Calicut Paragon, Dubai (with 26 dishes) and AED 45 for parcel; AED 30 at Aachi’s restaurant, Abu Dhabi; AED 30 at Coconut Lagoon; AED 38 at Ruchi restaurant, Abu Dhabi and AED 42 at Calicut Notebook (AED 55 for Iftar-Vishu sadya). Some of these rates include VAT, while certain restaurants charge extra for VAT and parcels. At Lulu Hypermarket, sadya is available as a combined parcel, while customers can also purchase various dishes by weight.
Incidentally, Kerala’s Vishu sadya is gaining popularity among people belonging to other countries also. These foreigners – mostly from China, Philippines, Korea, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Egypt, Syria, UAE and UK – get a taste of the sadya for the first time during outings with colleagues belonging to the state. Incidentally, foreigners try relishing the sadya with spoons and later give up the effort and switch to hands.
“Later, many of these foreigners arrive with people from their country seeking the sadya,” said Aachi’s restaurant partner Nibu Sam Philip.
( AED 1 = Rs 22.25 on April 14, 2023 at 5pm IST)
