Sadya is the biggest vegetarian feast of Kerala, served for festivals like Onam, Vishu and of course on auspicious occasions. Out of the “n” number of Sadya special dishes, Olan stands out as a subtle curry which is light, hearty, and deliciously complements the flavours of the different Sadya curries.

The main ingredients of this dish are Ash Gourd (Kumbalanga) / Winter Melon and Red Cowpeas (Vanpayar). Both are cooked and simmered in a flavourful coconut milk-based gravy, spiced with green chilies. The coconut milk is used and cooked in two stages; 1. while cooking the ash gourd 2. to top the curry at the end with thick coconut milk.

Olan is commonly served as one among the many sides of Sadya, but can also be served as a side with boiled rice and some spicy curry. Do try out this recipe and let me know your feedbacks in the comment section below.

Interested in other Sadya recipes? Check it out here:

Sadya Recipes

Enjoy, Happy Cooking…!

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Olan / Ash Gourd Coconut Milk Curry

Olan! A Sadya Special, made with Ash Gourd / Kumbalanga,Red cowpeas & simmered in a Coconut milk-based gravy.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword kerala, kerala sadya, Olan, sadya

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 2 cups of ash gourd/ kumbalanga (cubed)
• ½ cup red cowpeas / vanpayar
• 2 green chilies (slit)
• ½ cup water
• 1 cup thin coconut milk
• ¼ cup thick coconut milk
• 2 sprigs of curry leaves
• ½ cup water
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• salt (as required)

Instructions

• Soak red cowpeas overnight.
• Pressure cook the soaked cowpeas with a little water, for up to 1 whistle. Make sure not to overcook the beans making them mushy, it should retain its shape.
• In a pan, cook ash gourd by adding ½ cup water, green chilies, 1 sprig of curry leaves and little salt. Once it starts boiling, add thin coconut milk and cook on medium flame.
• Cook until the veggies are cooked perfectly, but still holds its shape. Add the cooked red cowpeas, mix well, and adjust the seasoning.
• Reduce the flame and add thick coconut milk. Allow it to cook for 1 more minute and then switch off the flame. Top with coconut oil and curry leaves.
• Allow the curry to rest for 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!!!

The post Olan/ Ash Gourd Coconut Milk Curry appeared first on Pepper Delight.

Kootu Curry is a traditional side dish served mostly for festivals & celebrations in Kerala, like Onam, Vishu, and marriages. Along with the endless curries served in a Sadya (traditional vegetarian feast of Kerala), Kootu Curry makes its presence unique by being the only curry which uses roasted coconut as a topping. The word kootu means ‘a mix or combination’, and the recipe is a mix of different vegetables and chickpeas simmered in a coconut cumin gravy, and later topped with browned/fried coconut.

The vegetables used for this dish differ from place to place in Kerala. It’s most common ingredients are Chena (yam), Kaya (raw plantain) and black/white chickpeas, but variants like Pumpkin and Ash gourd are also popular.

I must confess that this recipe is a coconut overload in various forms, be it fresh, oil, or fried. Its major highlight is the addition of fried coconut with curry leaves and dry red chilies, which adds a nice aroma and flavor to the dish. Kootu Curry is a non-spicy, lightly sweet, and a completely satisfying side dish; it pairs wonderfully with steamed rice and daal/lentil curry.

Enjoy, Happy Cooking…!

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Kootu Curry/Kerala Style Plantain and Yam Curry

Kerala Style Kootu Curry… made with Yam, Plantain and Black Chickpeas – A Sadya Delicacy…! 

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword kerala sadya, kootu curry

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 1 cup kadala / black chickpeas
• 1½ cup water + more
• 1 medium sized raw plantain (cut into cubes)
• 1 cup yam (cubed)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ cup + ½ cup grated coconut
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp pepper powder
• 1 tbsp jaggery
• 2 sprigs of curry leaves
• 2 dry red chilies
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• Coconut oil (as required)
• Salt (as required)

Instructions

• Soak black chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook it with water and a pinch of salt for 3 whistles. Once cooled, drain the water and keep aside. Also set aside the cooked black chickpeas separately.
• Grind ½ cup grated coconut with cumin seeds to a coarse paste, keep aside.
• In a separate pan, add the above drained water, vegetables, turmeric powder, chili powder, & salt, and cook on a medium flame. Once it starts boiling, simmer it and cook until the veggies are soft, properly cooked, until the water dries out. Add more water if necessary.
• Lightly mash the cooked vegetables with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the cooked black chickpeas and the grinded coconut paste, mix well and continue cooking till the raw coconut smell subsides.
• Now add pepper powder and jaggery to the pan, mix well and check for the seasoning. Place the lid, cook for another 2-3 minutes, and then switch off the flame.
• To prepare the tempering / garnish, heat oil in a separate pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves, dry red chilies and grated coconut. Roast the coconut until they turn golden brown.
• Pour this over the cooked chickpea veggies, mix well. Your Kootu Curry is ready, serve with rice and daal curry!

Notes

1. Pumpkin and Ash gourd can also be added as alternate vegetables while making Kootu Curry.

2. Using jaggery in this dish is completely optional as it’s specific to certain places in Kerala.

3. Coconut oil is ideal for all authentic Kerala recipes.

The post Kootu Curry appeared first on Pepper Delight.

It’s the month of Celebration; Onam..!!! The harvest festival of Kerala! Welcoming of King Mahabali; the legendary king who reigned the state during its Golden Era! and Celebrating his mythical homecoming…!!!

It’s the festival of love, trust, togetherness, with families getting together, gifting and wearing new dresses, decorating pookalams (floral designs), singing, dancing, and having fun throughout with a lot of beautiful memories… This is the time we non-residents miss our hometown a lot.

Onam is not complete without the Sadya; the traditional vegetarian feast plated on a banana leaf, a spread of 10 to 15 different curries/dishes served over 5 courses.

Green Gram Curry is served as the first course of a Sadya, along with rice, pappad and a drizzle of ghee. The crumbling sound of the pappad as you crush it and mix it with the curry n rice… the flavour overload which hits you on your first mouthful… all these emotions signal the arrival of Onam, and your mind n body prepares itself for the delicious feast to come…!!!

Green gram is considered to be one of the healthiest foods; it is called as the lean protein, plays a great role in weight loss and is also referred to as a non-meat source of iron.  Green gram provides 14 grams of protein per 1-cup serving, and easily fits the bill as an alternative nutrient-rich source of protein to your usual chicken or steak.

Other than sprout salad which is the most commonly consumed form of green gram worldwide, Indian dishes offer a variety of recipes to make these lentils tastier in mild or spicier versions so that it can be included in our daily meal.

This recipe is popular in Kerala and is a non-spicy curry made by dry roasted split green gram blended in a coconut mix, served with the wonderful combination of steamed rice and ghee/clarified butter.

Enjoy, Happy Cooking and a Prosperous Onam…!!!

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Prep time : 30 -45 minutes
Serves : 4-5

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup green gram / cherupayar / moong dal / mung bean
• 1 cup coconut
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 green chilies (optional)
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• cumin seeds (a pinch)
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1-2 sprigs of curry leaves
• salt (as required)
• ghee / clarified butter (serving)

For tadka / tempering (optional)

• mustard seeds (a pinch)
• 1 pearl onion chopped (optional)
• 2 dry red chilies
• 1-2 sprigs of curry leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat a pan and dry roast the green gram till it turns slightly brownish and exudes a roasted aroma. Bite a sample to check its consistency; it should crackle in your mouth if properly roasted.
2. Allow it to cool down. If you are using split green gram, then you can skip Step 3 and move on to step 4.
3. Once cooled, grind it in a blender/grinder at split second intervals until the grams splits. Be careful not to powder.
4. Pressure cook the green gram with a little salt and water for 1-2 whistles till it is properly cooked. Mash it with a wooden spoon to make it slightly thick in its consistency.
5. In the meantime, grind coconut, garlic, green chilies, turmeric powder, and cumin seeds to a smooth paste.
6. Add the paste to cooked green gram, mix it properly and boil the curry. Taste and add salt as needed.
7. Garnish with coconut oil & curry leaves, turn off the heat.

For tadka / tempering (optional)

8. Prepare the tempering by heating oil in a small pan and splutter mustard seeds, followed by adding sliced pearl onions and frying till its turns light brown. Add dry red chilies, curry leaves, and saute.
9. Mix this tempering to the curry.

Serve warm with steamed rice, topped with ghee and pappad.

The post Green Gram / Parippu Curry appeared first on Pepper Delight.

So Josna, on your request…!

Mathanga (Pumpkin) Pachadi is a very common dish made with coconut and yogurt, here Pachadi is a common reference to any side dish made with yogurt and usually on a sweeter note. I had earlier uploaded a Beetroot Pachadi recipe, and yes you guessed it right; I love recipes with yogurt. The one big difference with this recipe when compared to any other Pachadi recipes is the use of mustard seeds. Normally we use mustard seeds to temper by spluttering it in oil, but here we also crush it and add to the dish. That’s my mom’s secret tip, and it tastes good too.

I love the thick squishy pumpkin yogurt combo, this little sweet and sour curry will make a delicious accompaniment with rice and any spicy curry, I would recommend a fish curry to go along with.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 – 5 servings

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup Pumpkin (chopped)
• 2 green chilies
•  1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• ½ cup Grated coconut
• ¼ tbsp Cumin seeds
• 2 sprigs Curry leaves
• Small pinch of Mustard seeds
• ½ cup yogurt
• Dry red chilies (garnish)
• Oil (as required)
• Salt (as required)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut the pumpkin into half, and clean and remove seeds from the inside. Peel of its skin.
2. Slice pumpkin into small pieces.
3. In a pan cook the pumpkin with a little water and salt, till it turns mushy.
4. Meanwhile make a coconut paste by grinding grated coconut, green chilies, turmeric powder, and cumin seeds.
5. Mash the cooked pumpkin properly with a wooden spoon or a masher. Add the coconut paste with 2 tbsp of water and mix well. Cook the mix for another 3 minutes. Turn off the flame and allow it to cool.
6. Beat yogurt and add it to the pan and mix well, taste and add salt as needed.
7. Take another small pan for tempering a little oil, curry leaves and dry red chilies, on a low flame. Add the tempering to the pumpkin curry and mix well.
8. Pound mustard seeds in mortar and pestle until crushed, and add that to the curry.

Serve with rice.

The post Pumpkin with Yogurt (Mathanga Pachadi) appeared first on Pepper Delight.

Beetroot pachadi is a South Indian dish, from the state of Kerala. Pachadi in Malayalam (the state language) is a generic reference to any side dish made with curd and is usually on a sweeter note. Different varieties of pachadis made with fruits or vegetables are quite favored in Kerala, and are a must on the menu for festivals like Onam & Vishu, and auspicious occasions like weddings.

Beetroot pachadi stands out among other dishes for its vibrant color, and the refreshing taste which is generally unexpected from a recipe out of beetroot. Lots of people do not enjoy beetroot in general, but this dish is an exception and I would surely like you all to try this out.

Interested in more pachadi recipes: Check this out Pumpkin with Yogurt/Mathanga Pachadi

Enjoy, Happy Cooking…!

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Beetroot Pachadi/Beetroot with Yogurt

Beetroot cooked in a mildly spiced coconut gravy and mixed with creamy yogurt. One among the popular sadya recipes, best served with steamed rice...!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword beetroot pachadi, kerala, sadya

Servings 3

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 2 small beetroot (grated finely or finely minced)
• ½ cup grated coconut
• 2 green chilies
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ cup - 1 cup Yogurt (beaten)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• Salt (as required)
• Oil (as required)
• 1 or 2 sprigs Curry leaves

Instructions

• Peel and grate the beetroots, and keep them aside.
• Grind coconut, cumin seeds and green chilies. Set aside.
• Add a little oil to a pan and saute the grated beetroots for 2 minutes with a little salt, on a low flame. Add 1/2 cup water and cook it with a closed lid on medium flame.
• As the water evaporates and the beetroot gets cooked, add the grinded paste and mix well, cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn off the flame and allow it to cool.
• Beat yogurt in a separate bowl and mix it evenly with the cooked beetroot, taste and add salt as needed.
• Tempering: Heat oil in a separate pan. Splutter mustard seeds, and add dry red chilies and curry leaves. Transfer it to the prepared pachadi and mix well.
• Serve with steamed rice. Enjoy!

The post Beetroot Pachadi (Beetroot with Yogurt) appeared first on Pepper Delight.