The banana leaf sadhya made for Onam, Vishu or any of the Kerala festivals has an array of side dishes that are served on the top half of the leaf. Some of these we have posted earlier
Aviyal
Thoran
Pachadi
Kichadi
Erisherry
Mango pickle
However, the mildest, creamy yet simple olan is missed if it is not on the leaf. Have you made it?
What is olan?
Olan is a slow cooked stew made with gourds cooked in coconut milk. It is a mild creamy curry that predominantly uses ashgourd and pumpkins. Depending on regional variations you will find yard long green beans (payar) or cooked cowpeas added to it. It is flavoured gently with salt,curry leaves and slit green chillies. Unlike a lot of Kerala dishes it doesn’t have a mustard tempering, rather a good tablespoon of pure coconut oil stirred in as soon as it is removed from the heat for that roundeness and fragrance you experience.
How is sadhya olan different from regular olan?
If you are familiar with Kerala recipes, you will know that olan is one that is probably the least made in most houses. This is because the regular olan is a runny curry with less complex flavours. However the sadhya olan with the creaminess from the coconut milk and the cooked cowpeas is a thicker version which never runs. Though mild it has a well flavoured along with the semi mashed vegetables. The key to making the sadhya style olan is managing the liquid content.
Ingredients to make olan
Vegetables: since this is a mild stew with gourds and pumpkins, so they make the bulk of this recipe. the withte fleshed wintermelon ( elavan) is preferred over the giant ash gourds. The pumpkin adds a it of colour and sweetness. if you cant get the wintermelon, bottle gourd, watermelon peel or chayote work well too.
Bean: the creamy composition works because of the earthy flavours from the cooked cowpeas. Cowpeas have an earthy flavour and are perfect for this mild recipe.
Coconut milk: coconut milk is the cooking liquid here. At first the this cococnut milk is used to cook the gourds in. At the final stages, string the thick coconut milk or coconut cream. this ensures that the final result is thick olan and it is creamy.
Seasoning: Salt is the only seasoning here.
Spices: this is a mild stew and uses no spices. The single green chilli added is for fragrance, not heat. This is opional.
Oil: the final roundedness of the recipe comes from half tsp of coconut oil stirred in at the end. This is an optional step, but brings the flavour exactly like the one in the sadhya.
Mealprep this mild gourd stew
The gourd stew or olan is a great recipe to mealplan. It stays good for a few days under refrigeration. They do freeze good, but not great. The gourds do go a bit limp upon thawing the frozen one. So add it to your mealprep not much to your freezer list.
What pairs well with sadhya olan?
Sadhya olan is a great accompaniment to the banana leaf meal or a South Indian thali. It pairs well with idiyappam (string hoppers), steamed breads or chappathi. In a great rush week, Olan is perfect with some toasts or just as such warmed in a bowl resembling a chunky soup.
Lets make Sadhya Olan
Sadhya Olan
Equipment
- 1 Kadai Thick bottomed wok
- 1 Pressure cooker
Ingredients
for cooking cowpeas
- 3 tbsp cowpeas
- 2 cups drinking water
for cooking the curry
- 250 gram wintermelon Ash gourd
- 100 gram pumpkin
- salt to taste
- 1 medium green chilli
- 5 curry leaves
- 1/2 cup coconut milk thinned out, see notes above.
To finish the olan
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp coconut cream
Instructions
To cook the cowpeas
- Wash and soak the cowpeas for 6 hours or overnight.
- Drain and add fresh water.
- Pressure cook the cowpeas for 10 minutes in high pressure. Release the pressure naturally.
- Drain the cooked cowpeas and save the cooking liquid.
to make the olan
- Wash and peel the ashgourd ( winter melon) and pumpkin.
- Slice into 1inch slices.
- Add to the khadai, with a slit green chilli, salt and curry leaves.
- Mix the coconut milk with a bit of water to thin it out. Don't add a lot of water as the winter melon and pumpkin will leech a lot of water when cooking.
- Add this to the khadai. mix well.
- Set his to cook on a low heat. cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Open the lid, mix well and add the drained cow peas.
- Slow cook it till the liquid is absorbed well, You can mash the cowpeas a bit as they cook
- Stir in the coconut cream and coconut oil.
- Remove off the heat. Cover and keep for 10 minutes
- The olan is ready to be served.
Stay connected
Hope you had a great Onasadhya. If you are looking for the best organizational tips to make sadhya, do check out our post
Guide to Sadhya.
When you make this olan recipe, do share your thoughts in the discussion below. We would love to hear from you. If you like to share or save this recipe, here is the pin link.
Sadhya olan pin for later.
See you in the next post.
