Rice at the centre, surrounded by a ring of preparations — sambar, rasam, avial, thoran, olan, pachadi, pickle, papadum — all served at once on a fresh banana leaf. The sequence matters: different combinations with each portion of rice, working through the courses in order. The meal ends with payasam, a sweet rice pudding, sometimes in two versions.

The banana leaf gives the food a faint green fragrance. Eat with the right hand. When finished, fold the leaf toward you — folding it away signals the host has died; toward you, a living guest. This detail will be explained if you get it wrong.

In Dubai, sadyas are served at Onam and other Malayalee occasions at community venues and a handful of South Indian restaurants that do it properly.