Kerala Olan || Onam Recipes

Yields: 4 Servings Difficulty: Medium Prep Time: 10 Mins Cook Time: 30 Mins Total Time: 40 Mins

Olan is one of the components in Onam Sadhya. It is served on the banana leaf along with other sides. Olan is a very mild preparation made with ash gourd,  coconut milk, and green chili, tempered with coconut oil and curry leaves. Commonly, cooked black-eyed peas / Vanpayar are added alongside ash gourd to make Olan. In some parts of Kerala, yellow pumpkin is used to make this Olan. The trick to getting a creamy Olan is to avoid overcooking the Olan after adding the first coconut milk. Try making this Olan for this year’s Onam Sadhya and enjoy it!

Ingredients

0/7 Ingredients
Adjust Servings
  • Tempering Ingredients

Instructions

0/5 Instructions
  • Wash, peel, and chop ash gourd to cubes. Extract coconut milk from grated coconut three times. Boil the pumpkin cubes in the third coconut milk.
  • Add slit green chili and let it get half cooked. Boil black eye peas for three whistles in a pressure cooker. Add the cooked peas to the ash gourd.
  • Once the ash gourd is cooked, add the second coconut milk to it. Season with required salt. Let it boil for 3- 4 mins.
  • Once it is cooked. Add the first thick coconut milk and switch off the Olan in 2 mins. Do not overcook after adding the first coconut milk.
  • In a small pan, add coconut oil and temper with chopped small onions, and curry leaves. Add to the cooked Olan.

Notes

  • I have used ash gourd for making this Olan recipe. You can also add parangikkai / yellow pumpkin to make Olan.
  • The addition of black eye peas is out of your choice. You can use the only ash gourd if you like.
  • In this recipe, I have used freshly made coconut milk. You can also use tinned coconut milk. In this case, dilute with water to attain second and third coconut milk.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *