Multicultural Ahmedabadis and resident Malayalees keen on celebrating Onam have a wonderful new address now. Kadam Nursery and Cafe at Bopal in Ahmedabad is a cool and happening place to go to this Onam to celebrate the festival with friends and family over authentic Keralian food.
Kadam Nursery and Cafe is hosting a Sadya feast on Onam this year. Started as a unique concept of a cuppa amid plants and books by Gujarati-speaking Malayalee, Kadam Cafe serves vegan cuisine, tea, coffee and homemade snacks.
The birth of Kadam Nursery & Café has an interesting background. Madhu Menon, the Gujarati-speaking Malayalee in Ahmedabad who is a renowned environmentalist and educator and the Managing Trustee of Ahmedabad Nature Lovers’ Association (ANALA) and his wife Sunetra who is from Maharashtra had started a nursery. Being avid lovers of gardening and plants, they developed a piece of plot into a green oasis with a small pond and various plants.
Nisarg, their son came up with the idea after the lockdown to marry the useful with enjoyable. It was his initiative to start a cafe at Nursery. Their associate Rameela Vaghela, who Sunetra says ” cooks better Malayalee food than Malayalees themselves” is an important pillar in this venture. Rameela who babysat Nisarg and is with the family for the last 25 years, has trained under mother in law of Sunetra.
Nisarg Menon, Founder, Kadam Nursery, while talking to Vibes of India said, “ There is a small community of Karelians in Ahmedabad, and we were thinking of celebrating Onam in a different way this year. We as such serve delicious Kerala delicacies to the people at our cafe. So we thought why should we not invite everyone for Sadya on Onam and introduce them to the culture of Kerala?”
Sadya or Sadhya is a Keralian meal of much importance to all Malayalis. It consists of a variety of traditional vegetarian dishes usually served on a banana leaf in Kerala as lunch. Served as a traditional feast for Onam and Vishu, Sadhya means banquet in Malayalam.
Kadam Nursery & Cafe is organizing homemade Onam Sadya on 8th September 2022 to celebrate Onam. Onam Sadya is an essential part of Onam, and almost every Keralite either makes it or is involved in it.
Onam Sadya reflects the spirit of the season and is traditionally made with seasonal vegetables like yam, cucumber, gourd etc. The feast is served on banana leaves and consists of nine dishes, but may also include more than two dozen dishes.
In Conversation with Nisarg & Sunetra
