A festive Onam spread, with a dog-friendly twist, lets Pune’s pets join the celebrations
There have been years when we have had more than 27 or 28 dishes,” he said. For Preethi KP, who has lived in Pune for 40 years, the day will begin with a temple visit with her family in festive clothing and ordering in to make the feast easy to enjoy.
Arun Nair, a resident of Fatimanagar, said his family follows a potluck tradition in which every member prepares a dish. Since Onam falls on a Thursday, we will order at home so it will not be tiring,” the Sadashiv Peth resident said. “He loved it, and I thought, why not make it commercially so other pets can also have their own kind of sadhya and celebrate the festival?” she said.
For the community in Pune, Onam is as much about the feast as it is about the festival with families finding their own ways to bring the feast to the table. For some, cooking turns into a family affair. “All the men in my family are self-proclaimed good cooks. Everyone cooks a dish at their homes, and we have a potluck feast at mine. “This is the start of the festive season. “The sadya, which can include avial, thoran, olan, sambar, pickles, pappadam, banana chips and several varieties of payasam, is increasingly being enjoyed by Pune residents without preparing it themselves. The idea came from home.
Last year, Zalkikar served her own dog Rio a meal on a banana leaf while the family ate their Onam-style feast. Pune: Kerala eateries and delivery kitchens across Pune are busy prepping for the traditional sadhya, an elaborate vegetarian meal served on a banana leaf, as the city’s Malayali community observes Thiruv onam today.