Story About The Kerala Delicacy Olan And How You Can Make It

Olan is a dish from the Kerala cuisine of India's southern state of Kerala. It's a light and delicately flavoured dish made with white or ash gourd, black-eyed peas, coconut milk, and ginger seasoned with coconut oil. It's typically offered as part of a Sadhya meal. Sadya is a classic vegetarian platter from Kerala that is important to all Malayalis. It consists of a range of traditional vegetarian dishes that are usually served on a banana leaf as lunch in Kerala. Sadya is Malayalam for banquet. It is traditionally served as a dish for Onam, Kerala's state festival. A Sadya might have anything from 24 to 28 items served as a single course. It can have over 64 or more items in cases where it is a much larger one, such as the Sadya for the Aranmula Boatrace (Valla Sadya). 

People sit cross-legged on mats during a traditional Sadya festival. Without cutlery, food is eaten using the right hand. The menu varies based on where you are and what religion you follow. Non-vegetarian meals are served in the sadya in some groups, particularly in Kerala's northwestern region. Although it is customary to employ traditional and seasonal vegetables native to Kerala or the Southwest Coast of India, vegetables such as carrots, pineapples, and beans have become commonplace.

This curry has flavours of coconut milk, curry leaves and cowpeas. Olan is usually made with ash guard or white pumpkin but you can substitute it with the yellow pumpkin. You can also use red cowpeas instead of black-eyed peas. Coconut milk is important for this recipe. You'll need to mix onaam paal and rendaam paal together (first and second extract of the coconut milk). The use of a 'young' Ash gourd is another suggestion. If you freeze shredded coconut, remember to defrost it for a few hours or warm it in the microwave before extracting the coconut milk. For the first extract, you might puree the coconut in a blender and then drain off the milk with a sieve. For the second extract, add water to the leftover coconut and combine again in the mixer. A tinge of green chillies is the other flavour component in the olan.

Here's how you can make the traditional Olan at home

Ingredients

1. Ash guard
2. Green chillies
3. Thin coconut milk
4. Thick coconut milk
5. Black-eyed peas
6. Salt as per taste
7. Coconut oil
8. Curry leaves

Directions

1. Soak black-eyed peas overnight and pressure cook for 2 whistles with a pinch of salt. Set it aside for now.
2. Both the ash gourd and the pumpkin should be peeled and chopped into medium-sized pieces.
3. Use half a coconut to extract coconut milk or store-bought coconut milk. If you're using canned coconut milk, dilute it with water to get thin coconut milk.
4. Cook ash gourd and pumpkin in thin coconut milk with slit green chillies and salt to taste. Once it's done, add the thick coconut milk and cooked cowpeas (vanpayar) and simmer for 5-6 minutes over low heat before turning off the heat. (After adding the first or thick coconut milk, do not boil for too long.)
5. Garnish with curry leaves and a sprinkle of raw coconut oil.
6. Delicious Kerala Olan is ready to eat.