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Olan | Kerala Olan

Olan is a traditional side dish of Kerala made by cooking ash gourd with cowpeas in coconut milk & curry leaves. Olan is one of the main ingredient of Onam Sadhya and commonly made for lunch in Kerala. Olan recipe is easy & quick to make and here we go with step by step pictures & video.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Servings3
AuthorSharmilee J

Ingredients

  • 1 and 1/2 cups white ash gourd
  • 1/2 cup cowpeas
  • 2 nos green chillies slitted
  • 1 cup thin coconut milk
  • 1 cup thick coconut milk
  • a small sprig curry leaves
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil
  • salt to taste
  • water as needed

Instructions

  • Soak the bean / cow peas overnight
  • Pressure cook with little water until the bean turns soft but not mushy may be for 5 whistles. Set aside.
  • Heat up 1/2 cup of water along with 1 cup thin coconut milk - add ash gourd and green chillies to it.
  • Peel of the skin of ash gourd and chop them into bite sized pieces, Set aside
  • Cook till the veggie turns soft (not mushy it should hold its shape). Then add cooked beans, required salt and thick coconut milk.
  • When its about to boil switch off. Add curry leaves and drizzle coconut oil and add it to the curry.
  • Serve olan warm with rice or any variety rice.

Video

Notes

  • Make sure you cook both ash gourd and bean slightly mushy so that it absorbs the coconut milk flavour well and blends well.
  • Also after thick coconut milk is added do not cook for more time as it will start to curdle.
  • Coconut milk enhances the flavour of the curry. I cooked the bean with very little water(just immersing level).You can either pressure cook cowpeas or open cook in a pot too. But if you want to open cook then soak the bean overnight. If you forget to soak then pressure cooking is the best and easiest option.
  • Give an hrs resting time at least for the veggies and bean to absorb the curry well.
  • I used homemade coconut milk, you can use coconut milk powder or readymade coconut milk which comes in cartons too.
  • You can even use yellow pumpkin along with ash gourd for this curry.
Nutrition Facts
Olan | Kerala Olan
Amount Per Serving (75 g)
Calories 353 Calories from Fat 306
% Daily Value*
Fat 34g52%
Saturated Fat 30g188%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Sodium 1315mg57%
Potassium 411mg12%
Carbohydrates 12g4%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 4IU0%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 70mg7%
Iron 7mg39%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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