Elai Adai

Elai adai is a traditional kerala dish made on special occasions. Rice batter is stuffed with sweet filling of coconut, jaggery, jack fruit, folded in banana leaf and steamed to perfection.  Some people also call it "Valsan". I did not have fresh jack fruit and hence used a table spoon of chakka varatti which I got from India. You can omit this jack fruit and just do with coconut alone. I added some cashews just to give a nice texture and crunch to the poornam. You can see the display of my sweet at the contest, as I did not have time to take close up pictures.

I recently participated in a desert contest where the ingredient that need to be used was rice. I made elai adai and it came out very well and liked by many. I got this recipe from my chithi/ aunt and would like to thank her for encouraging me to do this. One can also use savory filling instead of he sweet one. I made one with sauted onions, corn and zucchini and steamed in banana leaf and it was yummy too.

Get Ready

To make  the rice batter

• 1/2 cup raw rice ( ponni raw rice)
• 1/2 cup parboiled rice ( puzhungal arisi)

Soak the rice in water for at least 3-4 hrs. drain the water and grind them into a very smooth batter without much water. set aside. The batter should be  like the consistency of pancake / idli batter.

Take a tbsp of the batter and add 3-4 tbsp of water in a vessel. Cook on a low flame stirring till the thin rice batter water mix becomes a thick paste or " kanji" like. See the consistency of the batter in the picture.

Let it cool completely and add it to the rice batter. whisk it well without any lumps and set aside. This step will help your outer covering of the adai stay soft for a long time. 

To make the poornam /stuffing

• 1 cup grated jaggery/ vellam
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup freshly grated coconut
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 2 tbsp  whole cashews, broken into small bite size pieces, roasted golden in ghee
• 1 tsp ghee

In a pan add the jaggery and add water just enough to soak the jaggery.

let the jaggery melt, strain the mixture to remove any dirt.
Return the jaggery water mixture to the stove and let it come to a frothing boil and thick.

Add a drop of the frothing " paagu" to a small bowl of water, you should be able to make a small ball, which will be like the consistency of slime.

Add the coconut, cardamom, cashew pieces and ghee and cook till the stuffing is sticky but also leaves the side of the pan. Turn the heat off & set aside. you can add  1tbsp chakka varatti at this point and mix. This step is optional. Now the poornam is ready.

To make the adai

Banana leaves  rectangular pieces at least 20- 25 cm long. If the leaves are older, it is better to fold them. if you have fresh leaves, just show them on the flame of your gas stove. This is called " elaya vattaradhu". This step will make the leaves more pliable to fold.

Add a small ladle of the rice batter at the center of the banana leaf. Spread it thinly like a small dosa. This is called " maavu ezhudharadhu".

Add a spoon of the  poornam to one side of the rice batter.

 Fold the banana leaf in half. Fold the all sides and flip and keep them aside with the folded side down. 

Arrange these in a idli plate and steam in  the cooker (without weight) for 20 mins. Once steamed, the banana leaf will change color. You can see how I had folded the leaf. By this, the poornam get smeared all over the rice flour.

Once cool, open the leaf packet and enjoy the elai adai. It will taste so good with the smell of banana leaf, jaggery, coconut etc.

Here is a picture of he savory elai adai, opened.

Sambara puli aka Kothamalli dry chutney

"Sambara puli " is what they call the dry kothamalli/ coriander chutney in most of the tam bram households. I remember my grandma preparing this while I drool over the sweet, spicy and tangy chutney. My grandma used to make it in the traditional " attukkal" which means the hose maid has to stay for an extra shift. The addition of jaggery gives this chutney an enhanced taste of the tamarind and other spices used.

It tastes so good with molagootal, idli, dosa and of course mu favorite is to eat with thayir sadham
( curd rice).
It stays good in the fridge for few weeks and comes in handy if you want to make some coriander chutney. Just add this, some coconut and grind and your chutney is ready.


Get Ready

• 1 bunch of cilantro washed
• 1/4 cup urad dal
• 1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
• 5-6 red chillies
• marble sized tamarind
• A small marble sized ball of jaggery ( optional)
• 1 -2  tsp oil
•  Salt to taste

Go:

• Spread the washed cilantro on a towel and let it air dry over night. Discard the thick stems and leave the rest intact. The cilantro will look wilted, but will still have some moisture in it. 

• coarsely chop the cilantro and set aside.

• In a pan, add the oil and roast the urad dal on medium heat till golden. set aside
• Add a little oil and roast the red chillies till they are shiny and crackly. Be careful not to burn them. set it aside.
• Add a little oil and roast the tamarind and set aside.

• Once every thing cools, to a blender add the roasted red chilli, cilantro, jaggery, tamrind, asafoetida, salt and pulse them several times.

• Add the roasted urad dal and pulse multiple times till everything comes together. You can grind the urad dal as coarse as you want if you want the sambara puli to be crunchy. store them just as is or make small balls and set aside.

Store it in an air tight container and refrigerate.

Enjoy this samabara puli and let me know if you like it!

Mambazha koottan / Mango Curry

Here I am today with a very easy Kerala style koottan. It tastes wonderful with rice, idli, dosa. The addition of fresh coconut with roasted fenugreek seeds gives a wonderful aroma. The key to add flavor to this dish is the roasting of the fenugreek seeds to the right perfection. If you roast them too little or too much the koottan will taste bitter or burnt.


Get Ready

• 1/2 cup chopped mango with skin
• 1.5 cups water
• pinch of turmeric
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida
• 1/4 tsp vendhayam / fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tsp ulutham paruppu / urad dal
• 1/4 tsp coriander seeds/ dhaniya
• 1.5 red chilli
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• 1tsp oil
• 2 tbsp beaten yogurt ( whisk regular yogurt, sour one works the best)

To temper

• 1/2 tsp kadugu/ mustard seeds
• 1/4 red chilli
• few curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp coconut oil

Go

• In a pan add a tsp of regular oil, add the vendhayam, dhaniya, red chillies and roast them on medium flame till the the vendhayam get dark brown or pops. turn the heat off and set it aside to cool.

• Once cooled, add the grated coconut, a little asafoetida, a little water and grind it to a smooth paste in a blender. set aside.

• In a vessel, add 1 cup of water, the chopped mango, turmeric powder, salt and cook till the mango is soft.

• Add the ground coconut paste and the beaten curd. adjust salt as per taste.
• Add a little water if your koottan is too thick.

• Let it cook till the koottan starts frothing in the sides.
• Remove from heat.
• In a small pan, add the coconut oil and do the tempering with mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chilli and pour it on the koottan.

Mambazha koottan is ready to be enjoyed!

If you use raw mango add a little jaggery as it it will enhance the taste. One can use, small onions, drumstick, squash, winter melon to make this koottan

Paal Payasm , Kerala style / Milk Kheer

I have another post on Paal Payasam, where I cook it on a open vessel method. Check out my previous recipe here Paal Payasam

 It takes a little time, but totally worth it.

This version is an easy method of making paal payasam in the pressure cooker. It does not involve a lot of stirring and the final product has a light pinkish color and tastes so good. You need a big pressure cooker and a tall vessel to go inside it. My mom used to make this type a lot, however my mother in law will always make the open vessel type. The rule of thumb for paal payasam is 1 litre milk needs a hand full of rice and half sugar. Kerala red payasam rice gives a great authentic flavor. I did not have that and used sona masoori rice.


Kerala Pal Payasam does not usually have any cardamom, cashews or raisins and just has the milky flavor.

This payasam served during special feasts goes very well with Poli!

Get Ready

• 2% milk 2 cups  ( 500 ml)
• 1/2 handfull of raw rice 
• 1/2 cup sugar

Go:

• Wash the rice
• Add the rice to the milk in a tall vessel.

• Add little water than normal inside the pressure cooker.
• Keep the vessel with milk and rice inside the pressure cooker.

• Cover and cook for 3 whistles and simmer for 25- 30 mins.
• Turn the heat off. let it rest for 15 mins and then open the cooker.
• You will see the milk changed color and rice cooked well.
• Add the sugar to this and cook directly on low flame for 10 -15 mins till the sugar completely dissolves, stirring in between.
• 
  
• Turn the heat off and serve. This payasm tastes even better when chilled.

Verum arisi Adai

Many people, especially the South Indians are aware of adai. It is a crepe made with rice and different types of lentils/ dals and served for breakfast or evening tea.

Verum arisi adai is a dish that i have seen only in the palakkad brahmin households. My mom and grandmother used to make this for evening tiffin or as a palagaram on fasting days.

It is made with just boiled rice and coconut with no other lentils. It is kind of different from aappam as there is no fermentation and not using pacha arisi/ raw rice.

The main flavor comes from the grated coconut that is added to the rice batter.

Tastes good with a ny chutney, pulishery or my favorite " Vellam" / jaggery!

Get Ready

• 1 .5 cups Boiled rice/ Puzhungal arisi
• 3/4 cup grated coconut
• salt to taste
• water to grind
• Curry leaves a few sprigs

Go:

• Wash and soak the rice in water for 6-8 hrs
• Defrost your grated coconut if using frozen one.
• Grind the rice in a blender, adding little water at a time.
• Add the grated coconut when the rice is partially ground adding water as needed
• Grind the rice coconut mixture to a fine dosa like batter consistensy.
• Add salt to taste and mix well. Do not ferment, just refrigerate the batter for later use.

To make the adai:

Heat a tawa. Add about 1/4 cup of batter and spread it a like a dosa.
 cook with oil on both sides and serve hot.

Note:

It tastes good when served piping hot!

Enjoy verum arisi adai!

Zucchini Moor koottan / Zucchini moru curry

Zucchini / cougette is a type of squash available in summer in USA. I did not know that it is also called seemai sorakkai in India. I have never eaten in before I came abroad. I have made a simple vegetable dish with onion and channal dal which my kids love. Yes, sorry, i have never bothered to post that on my blog. Zucchini has a lot of water and can get easily over cooked which has happened to me ehile making kootu !

I have also made  Zucchini Rice which tastes nice which you can check it out.

This time i made a moor kootan with Zucchini and we all loved it. Here is the recipe!

Get Ready

• 1 zucchini washed and cut in big chunks
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt/ thayir whisked

To Grind

• 2-3 tbsp grated coconut
• 1/2 tsp rice
•  1/4 tsp jeera
• 1 green chili
• small piece of ginger ( optional)

To Temper/ tadka/ thallika

• 1/2 tsp coconut oil ( or nay oil)
• 1/2 tsp kadugu/ mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp vendhayam/ fenugreek seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafetida/ hing
• few curry leaves

Go

• In a bowl add 3/4 cup water, pieces of zuke, turmeric powder, salt and cook till zucchini is just soft. as I warned you it can get mushy pretty fast, so keep an eye on the cooking time.
• Grind all the ingredients under to grind with little water to a fine paste and set aside.
• add the whisked yogurt, ground paste to the cooked zucchini.
•  adjust salt to taste.
• Heat on low flame till the mixture gets frothy around the sides, turn the heat off
•  in another pan, add oil and temper with kadugu, vendhayam, asafetida, curry leaves and por it on the zuke curry.

Serve hot with rice, potato fry or as a side dish for idli, dosa or adai

Vazhakkai Podi / Plantain Crumble

Hello my dearies! How is the week going for you all?

Plantain or raw banana is not something i frequently cook with. They are either too ripe or I will my chance to pick them up from Indian store when the shipment comes.

I got hold of some recently and wanted to make a podimas which my mom used to make.

Tastes good with sambar/ rasam/ pulissery rice.

Tried my hands on taking pics while cooking, not the best though!

Get Ready  ( serves 2-4 )

• 2 raw banana/ plantain/ vazhakkai
• 2 tbsp channa dal
• 1  dried red chilli ( more if you want the heat)
• 1 tsp grated coconut ( optional)
• 3 tbsp oil
• salt to taste
• pinch of asafetida
• 1 tsp mustard seeds/ kadugu
• 1 tsp urad dal/ ulutham paruppu
• few curry leaves ( optional)

Go

• Wash, top and tail the plantain

• Cook the plantain in water with skin for approximately 10 mins. It should not get too soft/ mushy

• Drain the water and let the plantain cool completely. This is very important.

• In a pan add a little oil and roast the dried red chilli, channal dal till golden and fragrant. Set aside.
• Powder the roast dal, red chilli with some asafetida and optional coconut into a coarse powder. set aside
• Once the plantains cool thoroughly, peel the skin off.

• Grate the plantain and set aside.

• In a pan, add the oil and do the tadka with mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.
• Add the grated plantain, powdered spice mix. salt to taste.
• Gentle toss them all till incorporated.
• Sprinkle some water, cover and cook for 1-2 mins.
• Turn the heat off and serve hot with rice, sambar or pulissery aka more kuzhambu.

Erulli / Eruhuli Curry

It feels good to be back blogging. I had been away for almost 3 weeks taking care of some home issues. Now things are in place and am back.

Many of you may wonder about this name Erulli. This dish is very special to the brahmins in Trivandrum, Kerala. The original name must have been irupuli curry which in tamil means a curry made with 2 tart agents. The tartness by tamarind and sour curds make this dish very special. A curry very identical to arachuvitta sambar without any paruppu, dhania is pretty standard in trivandrum brahmins household.

My inlaws are from Trivandrum and I learnt this from my beloved mom in law, an expert in making this curry.
The key to make this dish yummy is to roast the fenugreek/ methi seeds. in the right consistency. Roasting too little or too much may make the erulli bitter. One can use small onions, potatos, drumstick, winter melon as the main vegetable in the curry.

Here is the recipe.

Get Ready:

• 1 potato  washed &cut into big cubes with skin
• 1/2 tsp tamarind pste
• 2 tbsp Curd/ yogurt well beaten
• 1/3 cup grated coconut
• 3 red chillies ( iused small ones)
• 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp asafetida
• salt to taste
• water
• very little oil to fry the fenugreek& chilli

For tadka/ tempering

• 1 tsp coconut oil/ vegetable oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• Few curry leaves

Go:

• In a kadai, add very little oil, add the red chilli and roast till fragrant. set aside. 
• add the fenugreek and fry till it pops or beomes dark brown in color. set aside.
• In another pan add the potatoes and water to cover about an inch above the potatoes.
• Add salt, turmeric powder and cook the potatoes in water till  half done.
• Add the tamrind paste and cook till the raw smell is gone. By this time the potatoes will be well cooked.
• In a blender add the roasted fenugreek, red chilli, asafetida, coconut a little water and grind into a fine paste.
• Add the paste to the cooked potato, tamrind gravy.
• If it's too thick add a little water, adjust salt to taste.
• Now add the beaten curd/ yoghurt to the gravy.
• Turn the heat off once the curry starts to froth/ bubble at the sides. Do not boil it once the yogurt is added.
• Do the tadka and serve with idli, dosa, rice.

A very easy and authentic erulli is ready!

Aviyal - a vegetable medley

Aviyal is an exclusive vegetable dish from God's own country, aka Kerala. It is also frequently made in tamil nadu and mangalore cuisines. A medley of vegetables cooked with coconut, cumin green chillies and curd.
No sadya or feast is complete without aviyal. The traditional vegetables used in aviyal are cucumbers, winter melon, raw plantains, long beans, carrots, yams, egg plant, snake gourd etc. The sour curd gives a little tartness along with the heat from the green chillies. Adding raw coconut oil boosts tons of flavors and takes this dish to  an amazing  level... to please...

Traditional aviyal made by malayalis include shallots / garlic/ raw mango. These are not routinely added by the kerala brahmins. Again there is regional variation too.
Coming from a palghat iyer family, this is how aviyal is amde in our home, which I would like to share. the yogurt here in USA is not sour enough, so I add a little tamrind pulp to get that uthentic taste.

One could use any vegetables i guess found in hand.

Get Ready

• 2-3 cups of mixed vegetables cut into thick match sticks ( I used winter melon, carrots, suran, snake gourd, beans)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• water just to cover the vegetables to cook
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp tamarind paste
• 2 tbsp plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1/2 tsp  cumin seeds
• 2-3 tsp coconut oil
•  few curry leaves

Go

• In a pan add just enough water to barely cover vegetables. Add salt, turmeric powder, tamarind paste and cook till they are soft, but not mushy.
• Grind grated coconut, green chillies, and cumin with some water that was used to cook the vegetables into a fine paste.
• Add yogurt to blended coconut mixture in the blender jar and whizz once till the yogurt is well incorporated.
• Add the ground paste to the cooked vegtables.
• Adjust salt to taste.
• Let it come to a boil and turn the heat off.
• Add 2-3 tsp of cocounut oil and tear some curry leaves into the aviyal.

Now go get a plate if steaming rice and enjoy!

Ulli Theeyal/ Tangy pearl Onion and coconut curry

"Ulli" means onion and "Theeyal" means burnt in malayalm. The literal translation of ulli theeyal is burnt onion curry.
The funny thing is it's not the onions that are burnt, but the coconut that is toasted till it's almost burnt. The toasted cocnut releases all the oils and gives immense flavors combinedwith onions. Theeyal is a ver traditional kerala side dish. the onions can be replaced with eggplant, cheena, chakka anything you wish!

The only time consuming part is peeling the small onions. If you have frozen ones, go for it.

Get ready

• 1 cup pearl onions peeled and cut it half
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 cup plus 1/3 cup water
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• few curry leaves

To roast & grind

• 1/3 cup grated coconut
• 2 medium sized red chilli ( more if you like heat)
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 & 1/2 tsp dhania powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• pinch of asafetida

Go:

• In a pan, add a tsp of oil and add the grated coconut.

• Fry constantly stirring till it becomes brown like this. keep heat on medium taking care not to blacken the coconut. you'll have a nice aroma of roasted coconut/

See how brown the roasted coconut with onions etc is!

• Add the fenugreek, redchilli, a couple of pearl onions, dhania powder, red chilli powder, a pinch of asafetida and fry for few seconds. Don't add these spices before browning the coconut as these may burn quickly and leave a bitter taste.
• Turn the heat off and let it cool.
• Once cooled , grind the roasted masala with 1/3 cup pf water to a smooth paste. set aside.
• In another pan, add 1 tsp of oil. once hot , add the mustard seeds and let them pop. add the curry leaves, rest of the pearl onions and saute till the onions are golden.
• Add 1 cup of water, 1 tbsp of tamarind, salt to taste and let it boil till the onions are soft.
• Add the ground masala and a little bit of water if needed and adjust salt.
• Turn the heat off once it comes to a boil.

Serve hot with steaming rice, ghee or idli, dosas.

I made this for lunch with potato curry and it was so good!

Enjoy!

  

Pineapple Pulissery/ Morkozhambu

Pulissery a.k.a morkozhambu is a authentic Kerala recipe. The difference between the Tamil Nadu and the Kerala recipes are the addition of coriander seeds, cumin, and a little toor dal. The pulissery has only coconut, cumin, and chilis.
Pineapple is grown in abundance in the Alappey region of Kerala. I have tasted only mango pulissery. Tried pineapple pulissery and it was no way inferior to the mango counterpart. I used fresh pineapple chunks but canned one will work as well. Anyways, enough talk: let's get down to business!!!

Get ready:

• 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
• 1 cup yogurt beaten
• 1/3 cup grated coconut
• 1 red chili
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp. hing/asafetida
• Water as needed

For Tadka:

• 2 tsp. coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp. methi seeds
• 4-5 curry leaves

Go!

• Cook the pineapple chunks with turmeric powder, a pinch of salt, and enough water to cover them.
• Grind the coconut, red chili, and cumin with little water to form a fine paste.
• Add the yogurt, hing, ground coconut paste, and salt to taste to the cooked pineapple. Make sure you have only just a little water in the pineapple before u add the yogurt and coconut.
• Cook the pulissery till it foams at the sides. Take care not to bring it to boil as the puliserry may curdle.
•  
• Do the tadka and pour it on top pf the pulissery.
• Serve hot with rice and a ny side dish.

Wishing you all a merry christmas!

Butternut Squash Erissery and being tagged!

A traditional kerala feast includes a variety of dishes made with lots of coconut. Nothing can beat the taste of freshly grated coconuts. Being a palgat brahmin, coconut is a must in most of our cookings. Times have changed and frozen coconut is a staple in my freezer. This is my family recipe and I hope you will enjoy it too!

Some dishes to name are  Olan , Pulissery, Thoran, Kalan and Erissery. Traditionally it is made with Chenai ( yam) and plantains. I replaced it with butternut squash and it tasted excellent.
  Using coconut oil brings out the best flavor of this dish. The black pepper gives a nice kick to the erissery.

Get Ready:

• 2 cups butter nut squash cubed
• 1/4 tsp black pepper corn/ kurumilagu
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 red chilli
• 2 tbsp dessicated coconut
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste

For the tadka:

• 2 tsp coconut oil/ olive oil
• 1 tbsp dessicated coconut
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 3-4 curry leaves

Go:

• Add enough water just to cover the butternut squash in a pan.
• Cook till soft, not mushy with turmeric powder and salt to taste.
• Grind the pepper, red chilli, cumin, coconut with a little water to form a nice paste. ( no need to roast them)
• Add the ground paste to the cooked squash and mix well, without mushing up the squash too much.
• Let it come to a boil and turn the heat off.
• In a pan do the tadka. by spluttering the mustard seeds. curry leaves and fry the coconut till golden on a low fire.
• Pour the tadka an the erissery.
• Serve hot with rice as a  side dish.

Nithu  tagged me and gave an excellent idea to pick and choose questions from 3 fellow bloggers. And that's what I did!

1. Who inspired you to cook or bake?

My parents and the foodie in myself! He.. He...

2. What is your take on organic food? is it a big deal for you?

I have accidentally bought organic bananas in the past and thought,"Gee! these bananas are expensive!" I then tried buying milk, but was getting way too expensive. They became like sour grapes for me and went back to regular food. so, bottom line, not a big deal!

3. You try a new recipe and it does not turn out good,what will you do ?

I will feel miserable all day and look back to see, what went wrong. Once I identify where I screwed up, I will give it a try again and may be even again. Three strikes and it's out from my recipe collection!
 
4. Do you have a New Year's resolution-and will you be sticking to it?
 
I really want to avoid snacking junk. At work, there is always easy access to cookies, cakes and brownies as it's someone's birthday all the times. I want to have the guts to say no to my cravings and keep it under control.

5. Do you time your breakfast,lunch & dinner or eat when you are hungry ?
 
I strongly believe in eating meals on time. Untimely meals may increase one's chance of developing acid peptic diseases and binging later.

6. Name three ingredients you consciously avoid or eliminate even when the recipe calls for it ?
 
Parsley, too much cheese, olives

7 . Name three things you have to use in most recipes ?

Oil, cilantro and mustard seeds.

It's my turn to tag these gals ... and pass the link to your friends!

Aipi
Kiran
Priya mharorajasthanrecipes
Prathima
hamareerasoi
chitchatcrossroads
Nitha

Happy weekend for you all!

Manga Kari/ Quick Mango Pickle

Manga (mango in tamil) kari is a quick and easy mango pickle made from raw mango. This is an authentic kerala dish. My mom and grandma always made this. It tastes wonderful with curd/ yogurt rice. I some times eat it with out any thing, just by itself.

You need crunchy, but not too sour mangoes for this. This pickle does not have any vineger or too much oil and hence does not last long.So make in small batches and enjoy.

What you need:

1 cup mango chopped into small pieces
2& 1/2 tbsp red chilli powder (you can increase this to your spice level)
2 tsp salt or according to taste

For tempering/ tadka:
1 tsp Oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 th tsp Hing/ asafetida.
1 red chilli, torn apart

How I did it:

• Add salt and chilli powder to the chopped mango and let it sit for about 20 -30 mins.
• This incorporates all the flavors into the mango.
• Do your salt and spice test and adjust accordingly.
• In a pan, add oil and let it heat up.
• Do the tadka with mustard seeds, Hing and redchilli.
• Enjoy pickle with a bowl of yogurt rice or parathas.

I would like to thank Akheela  for this wonderful participation award.

Olan/ Pumpin and black eyed peas in coconut milk

Olan is an traditional keralite curry. It is served during "sadhya". Again there are different ways of preparing it. I am posting the one I learnt from my mom, grandma which is how it's made in palakkad. It tastes much better the next day,

Olan Ingredients

Pumpkin- small, peeled, seeds removed and diced in thin slices

Chayote/ chow chow 1 small peeled & sliced ( ideally pooshani or elavan or winter melon is used)

Black eyed peas 1/3 cup

Coconut milk powder 1/3 cup

luke warm water 1/2 cup.

green chilli 2 slit

coconut oil 1 tbsp

turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

salt to taste

curry leaves

Roast the black eyed peas ina pan with little oil. Let it cool and pressure cook. In a pan add the cut vegetables, a little water to saok the pumpkin, turmeric, slit green chillies, salt and cook. Add the cooked black eyed peas to the pumpkin. Whisk the coconut mikl powder in warm water. Turn of the stove and the milk to the cooked pumpkin. Add curry leaves and i tbsp of coconut oil. Note there is no need to do tadka for olan. It goes well with sambhar, rice or chapathi.