Travancore Olan
Ash gourd and black-eyed peas in coconut milk — white ash gourd (kumbalanga) cut into thin rectangles and cooked with soaked black-eyed peas (vanpayar) in coconut milk, green chilli, and curry leaves with salt until the gourd is very tender and the cowpeas are soft, then a final pour of raw coconut oil added directly to the finished dish without any further cooking. No tempering with mustard seeds, no turmeric, no spice beyond the single green chilli and the coconut oil. The olan is the quietest dish on the Onam Sadya banana leaf: pale, delicate, barely spiced, depending entirely on the sweetness of the ash gourd and coconut milk. Its very restraint is the point — the olan is the meditative pause among the Sadya's bolder preparations. The coconut oil must be raw and freshly pressed to be tasted as a distinct flavour element.
Cuisines
Best for
Recipe
Ingredients
| 1 cup | ash gourd, peeled and diced |
| 1 cup | pumpkin (peeled and diced) |
| 1 cup | cowpeas (vanpayar), soaked overnight |
| 2 cups | thin coconut milk |
| 1 cup | thick coconut milk |
| 2 tablespoons | coconut oil |
| 3 | green chilies, slit |
| 1 teaspoon | cumin seeds |
| 1 sprig | curry leaves |
| — | salt to taste |
Instructions
- 1 Cook the soaked cowpeas in a pressure cooker with enough water until soft, then set aside.
- 2 In a pot, combine the diced ash gourd and pumpkin with thin coconut milk, slit green chilies, and salt.
- 3 Cook on medium heat until the vegetables are tender.
- 4 Add the cooked cowpeas to the pot and mix well.
- 5 Pour in the thick coconut milk and gently stir to combine.
- 6 Allow the mixture to simmer on low heat for a few minutes without boiling.
- 7 In a small pan, heat coconut oil and add cumin seeds.
- 8 Once the cumin seeds splutter, add curry leaves and sauté briefly.
- 9 Pour the tempering over the cooked olan and mix gently.
- 10 Serve warm with steamed rice.
Tips
For a richer flavor, use freshly extracted coconut milk. Adjust the number of green chilies to control the spice level.