Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Olan(Red Pumpkin Curry) & Cauli-Pot-Peas Upperi















Left - Red Pumpkin Curry-Olan, Right - Upperi or Dry Subzi of Cauliflower,Peas and Potatoes


I have modified the traditional Olan which requires fresh coconut milk by substituting it with coconut powder. The traditional one also calls for main ingredient Ash Gourd, my family loves the Red Pumpkin one, my version is a time saver too.

Olan

Ingredients for Olan :
3 cups cubed (washed,peeled n deseeded) Red Pumpkin (400 gms)
1 cup coconut milk thick (3 tbspn coconut powder dissolved in warm water)
2 cups coconut milk thin (1 tbspn coconut powder dissolved in warm water)
2 green chillies OR 1 tsp red chilli powder
salt
4-5 sprigs curry leaves
2 tbspn coconut oil

Method for Olan :
In a pan, place 2 cups of thin milk and cook covered on a low flame along with the cubed Red pumpkin, salt and green chillies or red chili powder. Check for done-ness...simmer it do not let it boil. It is done when cooked but in shape too. Add the thick coconut milk, mix it well. Warm the coconut oil alongside. Add the curry leaves to pumpkin curry, put off the flame. Pour warm oil over the curry and curry leaves, cover the lid for flavours to mingle. Serve with rice.


Upperi/Subzi

Ingredients :
1 small cauliflower (appr. 500 gms )
2 medium potatoes
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
1 small tomato
1/2 tsp + 1 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)
1 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
1 tsp cumin seeds ( jeera )
Oil

Method :
Wash and cut the cauliflower florets, place in warm water with 1/2 tsp haldi for 15 minutes. Wash,peel and cube the potatoes and tomato. If frozen peas, place in a mw safe bowl, mw on high for two minutes, to soften the peas. In a kadhai/wok, heat a tbspn of cooking oil, crackle rai, splutter jeera, add potatoes, fry them for two minutes, add cauli-florets, fry for some time. Cover the lid and allow to cook in steam on a low flame for around 8-10 mins. Check if cooked. Then add the chopped tomatoes -let cook uncovered. Add haldi, red chili powder,mix well. Combine peas and lastly adjust salt. Just a minute before the flame is put off, add garam masala powder. Put the flame off, mix well, cover for 5 minutes. Serve with chappatis or as a side dish for rice.

Several variations can be tried like adding an onion and a tsp of ginger-garlic paste too.
I learnt this dish from my M-i-l.


Quite filling on a cold winter night!

18 comments:

FH said...

Both are scrumptious!:)

Shilpa said...

I haven't tasted this Olan anytime. Looks very similar to our Valval with less veggies. I will have to try this sometime.

KonkaniBlogger said...

Olan is a new name to me..Is this Kerala cuisine ?? I thgt i've heard the name somewhere, now I know what it looks like..Thanx for sharing Purnima..

KonkaniBlogger said...

Btw, am anot able to figure out about tht pop-up u mentioned. It looks fine when i open the page. Will see, thanx for tell me abt it .

indosungod said...

I have heard and read a lot about olan but never tried it, looks good with the pumpkin and with coconut milk added can anything go wrong. Potatoes cauliflower peas another all time favorite

Meera said...

Olan and upperi both look very good, Purnima. I think i have eaten olan with pumpkin and black eyed peas in it too. i am going to try ur version now. it is definitely a timesaver. good job!

Anonymous said...

We love pumpkin and we love cauliflower and these recipes are amazing! I will probably have to use a little less spice for my family, but I love these recipes!

Are you on the Kuwait aggregator?

Sagari said...

havent tryed pumpkin purnima ,

your recipe looks yummyyy

Purnima said...

Asha --> Tku!

Shilpa --> Surely try it,the taste is distinctively pump-coconutty! :D

Maya --> All our lovely Keralite bloggers hv blogged with the variations of Olan, mine is frm my MIL.

ISG --> I agree. :D

Meera --> Tku for your sweet words!

Intlxpatr --> Welcome to my blog! By the Indian std, I m on lowest spice! You may try blending it prior to seasoning, skip the chillies and consume it as soup with a bit of pepper...that shd taste good!(Coconut is very high on cholestrol! :D )

Sagari--> Do try it some time, goes well with rice! :)

Anonymous said...

LLOOOLLLL, Purnima, you have a clock with Kuwaiti time! That should do it for the Kuwait Blog aggregator!

Any recipes with eggplant?

Purnima said...

Oh! LOL...sorry I thought it was a query! Oh bcoz of that clock..btw we have a dish called sambhar, a combination of many boiled veggies, put together with Dal, seasoned with spice n curry leaves. In this dish, eggplant too is dunked. You may google to find this dish, I have yet to blog over it! :)

Dhivya said...

hey great recipe and very nice blog.I am a new blogger..plz do see my blo and encourage me

Dhivya said...

looks yummy.Thanks for sharing

Anonymous said...

I've tried pumpkin quite a few times. But never came out really good. Yours looks very delicious. Nice recipe.

DEEPA said...

I have also made olan ...Quite good ...

Shweta said...

Those look yummy!! I love your blog, all those dosas have me drooling big time!

Seema said...

Looks delicious Purnima - Olan is more Kerala cuisine.. something to our Valval. I have tasted it - its yum! Uppkeri looks delicious! You have a great blog!

Purnima said...

Dhivya--> Tks for dropping by, you hv a nice blog there!

Shriya--> Nithu & u have a lovely blog! You gals hv lovely spicy recipes! Try this one, you will love it.

Deepa-->I love the ash gourd olan too!

Shweta-->Glad u liked my blog!Tku!

Seema -->Tku, ur Raandap intrigues me!