Onam Sadya Special: Olan

Olan

This is a special dish which is made mostly for a sadya. This dish needs very little time to prepare also it is one of those dishes that is made in small quantities when Amma would make a sadya not everyone likes the taste of it and secondly it can get rancid very soon. The main constituent of this dish is raw pumpkin and coconut milk.

Amma would make this last so that when served it is fresh. Lets get quickly through this recipe.


Ingredients

Raw Pumpkin: 100 gms (thinly sliced rectangular pcs)
Onions: 1 small (thinly sliced)
Green Chillies: 2 nos
Ginger: 1/4 inch sliced
Curry Leaves 4-5 nos
Coconut milk: 4-5 tbsps
Coconut: 1/4 tsp
salt to taste


Method:

1. Boil Pumpkin + Onions+ Green Chillies+Ginger in very little water
2.Add coconut milk+ curry leaves + oil and salt to taste

Olan is ready!!!!!

This is ready isnt it simple....Mallu cooking is simple!!!!!

Onam Sadya Special: Elashery (Raw Plantain & Elephant Yam Curry)

A Sadya is incomplete without Elashery. I am still not perfect to make this but with experience it gets better. Amma had a set of instructions on how to prepare this dish. the course of this recipe we would know that. Elashery is Pushkar's (my husband) favorite dish. I think Elashery is one of the few malayalam words he picked up quickly. Elashery is made with Raw plaintain and elephant yam, You can use any raw plantain but my choice is the Etha kaya, the Plaintain found in Kerala the long one. In mumbai you would get this in Matunga.

Lets get to the receipe

Elashery

Ingredients

Elephant Yam : Chopped in asymmetrical pcs (100-200gms)

Raw Plaintain: Chopped in asymmetrical pcs (100-200gms)

Beans (Payara); 2-3 nos
One Full Coconut: Grated

Mustard seed: 1tsp

Cumin seeds: 1-2 tsp

Pepper: 1-2 tsp

Red chillies 2-3 

Curry Leaves: 5-6 nos

Turmeric: 2 tsp

Red Chilli powder; 1-2 tsp

Water: 100-200ml

Oil: 2-3 tbps
Salt to taste


Method

1. It is important to cut the veggies asymmetrically, unevenly. This is super easy just chop the way you feel
2. Boil the vegetables with salt+turmeric+chilli powder until they are firm but cooked
3. Grind half the grated coconut+cumin seeds+black pepper into a coarse paste avoid using water.
4. Mix this paste to the boiled vegetables and let it cook for 1 min. Keep aside
5. Heat oil in a pan add the mustard seeds+ the remaining grated  coconut. 
6. Saute till the colour of the mixture turns red ( like red ants in Amma's dictum because that is when the oil separates)
7. Mix this with curry and add the curry leaves.

Elashery read to be served. 

This dish has to be made on the day of the sadya because it has a lot of coconut, So if this needs to stored refrigerate in an air tight container.

Onam Sadya Special: Toran(Stir Fried Vegetables in Coconut)

There is a bit of a lag in writing down these recipes, so I have a lot of catching up to do, so next onam or Vishu all recipes are available on this site. Toran, or Uperi are vegetables stir fried with a tempering of mustard and curry leaves and in some vegetables asfoetida. The most commonly used veggie is Cabbage or french beans. In a Sadya most of the times either of the two vegetables are served.

My favorite vegetable  is Cabbage, it is easy to make and takes just 15 mins to cook up this meal and it taste best with Sambar Rice or also with plain chappatis. This is an office dabba takers option. 


Ingredients:

Cabbage: 500 gms (Finely chopped)
Chillies: 2-3 nos (slit lenghwise)
Curry Leaves: 5-6 nos
Asfoetida: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Sugar: 1 tsp
Freshly grated Coconut:  1/4 cup
Oil: 2-3 tbsp

Method
1. Heat oil in a Kadai.
2. Add the mustard seed, when the it starts to crackle add the curry leaves +  chillies + Tumeric powder and asofoetida.
3. Stir this mixture and the cabbage, Mix well and let this cook with the lid on for 5 mins.
4. Do not add the salt till the cabbage is cooked well as it reduces to half. After 5 mins add the salt and sugar and cook for a minute. 
5. Add the coconut and stir it for 30 seconds. 

The Toran is ready!!!


Some trivia Asofoetida is optional. For veggies like carrots, french beans, Ivy gourd, gherkins, Elephant yam, boil with salt and turmeric before you follow the above recipe.

Remember each vegetable has a unique taste so even if the recipe is same the taste of each Toran is different.