Padayal: The Singapore-Tamil Ritual Feast to Honour the Ancestors

02/06/2026

The banana leaf is laid out. Meticulously, the aunties bring together the different dishes, which they place around the leaf. My mother is seated on the floor, awkwardly, because she has a metal rod in her knee, and sitting on the floor has been difficult since her surgery.

First, she scoops out the rice, spoonfuls of fluffy basmati, filling the middle of the leaf. Then, she starts with the meats. The chicken curry goes on top of the rice. On the sides are laid a dark, and spicy mutton varuval, sotong perattal — round cuttlefish cooked in a tomato base until quite dry, a meenu sambal — pomfret basted in a chilli paste with ground lemongrass and lemon leaves, and kodalu — an unlikely favourite among the family because most of us do not eat tripe except when it is cooked this way, like a stew with potatoes.

This piece was first published on GOYA. Click here to read the full story.