Olan
A traditional Kerala vegetarian stew. A gentle coconut milk stew of ash gourd and red cowpea (thatta payaru), a Sadya essential.
Ingredients
Main
- Red Cowpeas (Thatta Payaru) — 160 g (whole)
- Thin Coconut Milk — 450 g (whole)
- salt (optional) (whole)
- Thick Coconut Milk — 600 g (whole)
- green chillies — 30 g (chopped)
- Ash Gourd — 750 g (cubed)
Tempering
- Curry Leaves — 8 piece (ground)
- Coconut Oil — 2 tbsp (whole)
Method
- Soak the Red Cowpeas overnight, then drain them and pressure-cook with salt and fresh water for about three whistles, until just tender but still holding their shape. They must not turn mushy.
- Peel the Ash Gourd, scoop out the seeds and soft core, and cut the flesh into even thin squares about half a centimetre thick.
- Slit the Green Chilli lengthways. Olan takes its heat gently, from whole slit chillies rather than from any ground spice.
- Put the Ash Gourd, the slit Green Chilli and salt into a wide pan with the Thin Coconut Milk, cover, and simmer gently until the gourd turns translucent and yields to a spoon.
- Drain the cooked Red Cowpeas and add them to the pan. Simmer uncovered for a few minutes so the flavours settle, stirring gently so the gourd squares stay whole.
- Lower the flame right down and pour in the Thick Coconut Milk. Warm it through only, and never let it boil, or it will split and turn grainy.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the raw Coconut Oil and tear in the Curry Leaves by hand. Added off the flame like this, they perfume the Olan instead of frying into it.
- Cover and rest for 10 minutes before serving warm. Olan should be a loose, pale, barely-spiced gravy that tastes of coconut and gourd.
Common questions
- What is ഓലൻ in English?
- ഓലൻ is written Olan in English.
- How many calories in one plate of Olan?
- 465 kcal per plate.
- How much cooking time?
- 45 min — 20 min prep, 25 min cooking.