Olan with rice
The mildest dish of the Onam sadhya and a gentle everyday curry in Kerala homes: ash gourd and red cowpeas (vanpayar) simmered with green chillies in thin coconut milk, finished with thick coconut milk, a drizzle of coconut oil and curry leaves, and eaten with Kerala matta rice. Soak the cowpeas overnight; some homes add yellow pumpkin too. With no onion, garlic or root vegetables, a Jain home makes it just as it is.
- 45 minTime
- 20 minHands-on
- 4Portions
- 12 gprotein per portion
- 600kcal per portion
Ingredients for 4 portions
- 80 gLobia (black-eyed peas), red (vanpayar), soaked overnight
- ≈ 300 mlWater, for the cooker
- to tasteSalt
- 500 gAsh gourd (winter melon), peeled, in thin 3 cm pieces
- 4Green chillies, slit
- 400 mlCoconut milk
- ≈ 200 mlWater, to thin the coconut milk
- 2 tbspCoconut oil
- 2 sprigsCurry leaves
On the side
- 300 gRice, Kerala matta
Method
- Wash the rice and add it to a large pot of boiling water.
- Boil the rice uncovered on a medium flame for 35–40 minutes, until the grains are soft but whole, then drain in a colander.
- Drain the soaked cowpeas and put them in the pressure cooker with the water and a little salt.
- Pressure-cook on a medium flame for 4 whistles, about 12 minutes, and let the pressure drop by itself. The cowpeas should be soft but whole.
- Peel the ash gourd, remove the seeds and spongy centre and cut it into thin pieces, about 3 cm across. Slit the green chillies.
- Mix half the coconut milk with the water in a wide pan. Add the ash gourd, green chillies and salt and simmer uncovered on a medium flame for 8–10 minutes, until the ash gourd is translucent and soft.
- Add the cooked cowpeas and the rest of the coconut milk and heat gently until just hot. Don't let it boil, or the coconut milk will split.
- Turn off the heat, drizzle over the coconut oil, add the curry leaves and cover for a few minutes so the flavours settle.
- Serve the olan with the hot rice.
