Olan- ash gourd, red pumpkin and cowpeas cooked in thin coconut milk

Olan is a bland dish with the flavor of coconut. It is part of the traditional Kerala meal. It is a very simple dish yet very flavorful. Red pumpkin adds slight sweetness to the dish. Olan can be made with just ash gourd and pumpkin alone. You can throw in few long yard beans also to it. And cow peas (small brown colored beans) can also be added. Sometimes, few pieces of taro root/arbi is also added. You can mix and match the ingredients according to the availability.  The vegetables can be cooked in water or thin coconut milk to add up the flavor. 

You need

• Ash gourd/Kumbalanga - 250 gms
• Pumpkin/Mathanga - 250 gms
• Long yard bean/Payar - 5 nos (optional)
• Cowpeas/vellapayar - a handful
• Green chilli - 1 no
• Thick Coconut milk - 3 tblspn
• Coconut oil - 1 tspn
• Salt to taste

Method

Pressure cook cow peas till soft. I have used black eyed beans. Peel the skin from the vegetables and remove the seeds. Chop both pumpkin and ash gourd into thin squares. Trim the edges of long yard beans and cut into 1 inch long pieces. Dilute 2 tablespoon of coconut milk in 1 1/2 cups of water. Add the chopped vegetables to it. Add a slit green chilly and salt to it.

While its half cooked, add the cooked cow peas to it. Be gentle while you mix the veggies when it is cooking so as not to break them much. Cook till the veggies are soft yet firm. Remove from heat. Add the remaining coconut milk and mix gently. Drizzle a teaspoon of coconut oil and cover it, for the flavors to steep in. Serve hot. The aroma of veggies cooked in coconut milk and of  coconut oil is very tantalizing. If cowpeas is used, it will slighty color the olan to light brown.

CLUSTER BEANS PORIYAL:

This is a famous poriyal in the native place though there are some variations in the cooking. Fresh and tender cluster beans taste delicious when they are cooked as poriyal.

 
கொத்தவரங்காய் பொரியல்

Ingredients:

Cluster beans- 250 gm
Finely chopped onion-1
Finely chopped green chillies-2
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Black gram- 1 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 arc
Chopped coriander- 3 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil- 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder- half sp
Shredded coconut- half cup
Asafetida- half sp

Procedure:

Cut the cluster beans into fine small pieces.
Boil them with salt, turmeric powder and enough water until they are ¾th cooked.
Drain off the excessive water.
Heat a kadai and pour the oil.
Add the mustard seeds and when they splutter add the black gram.
Fry it for a few seconds and add the onion with the green chillies, asafetida, curry leaves and the coriander.
Add a pinch of salt and cook for a few seconds.
Add the cooked cluster beans and fry them for a few seconds on a slow fire.
Lastly add the coconut, put off the fire and mix well.
Tasty cluster beans poriyal is ready now!!

TENGAI ENNAI - COCONUT OIL - HOME MADE

HOME MADE TENGAI ENNAI - HOME MADE COCONUT OIL

Two months prior to the arrival of a new born baby, our ancestral home always transformed into a mini factory which produced various baby products. Great grand mother, grand mother and mother were buzzing like busy bees, preparing coconut oil and herbal baby bath powder for the baby's massage, kan mai ( kajal, eye liner ) to keep the baby's eyes cool and protect them from infection , legiyam (a tonic made out of 72 select ingredients) and fresh ghee for the new mother. Roots and fruits were collected, sterilized, dried and stored for administering 'urai marundu' to the new born after theoil massage. Old dothies were laundered and cut out and stitched into soft and comfortable nappies. Old cotton sarees were converted into small quilts for swaddling the new baby. Garments worn by the previously born babies which was considered auspicious for a new born's first use, were brought down the attic for repair and wash. Aunts were busy knitting sweaters and booties.

My mother was overwhelmed with a flood of old memories when she visited us to see her Sydney born great grand daughter. She felt immensely sorry for the baby who did not have the opportunity to enjoy the luxury of all the traditional pampering. To satisfy my mother, and out of my own curiosity I decided to make coconut oil at home for the baby's massage as directed by my mother.

HOME MADE COCONUT OIL
Firstly, the selection of coconut is very important for extracting a thick and rich milk, which in turn would yield pure coconut oil. Big and ripe coconuts with thick kernels are favourable . coconuts with dark coloured shells indicate that they are ripe.


INGREDIENTS
Ripe coconuts - 6
METHOD
1. Break the coconuts into neat halves and grate them on a clean surface.
OR
1. Using a sharp knife disengage the coconut kernel from the shell and cut into small pieces.


2. Grind the coconut gratings or the pieces using a mixer grinder into a smooth paste, adding little water if required.

3. Pass the ground coconut paste through a sieve which has a fine mesh, and squeeze out the coconut milk by pressing with the back of a ladle. Squeezing with a clean hand will give the best results.
OR
3. Filter the paste using a clean cloth , wringing it to express the coconut milk.

4. After extracting the milk, add a little more water to the coconut gratings to extract as much as milk as possible.

5. Pour the coconut milk into a heavy bottomed vessel and start heating.
6. As the coconut milk boils, the oil will start separating from the milk solids and form into small globules. Keep stirring so that the coconut milk solids do not settle down at the bottom of the vessel and get burnt.

7. After almost an hour the white colour of the milk solids will change into a chocolate brown colour and the pleasant aroma of fresh coconut oil will start filling the air. This is the stage where children like to hover around to taste the flavoursome brown solids which tastes sweet like coconut toffees.

8. Keep cooking for a few more minutes till the milk solids crumble and acquire the colour of dark chocolate which will settle down at the bottom of the vessel. Pure coconut oil will be clearly visible on top of the residue.

9. Decant or filter the honey coloured pure home made coconut oil and store in a dry and clean bottle. If the selected coconuts are ripe enough, 6 of them will yield about 200ml of pure coconut oil.

This oil is very good for a baby's body massage.

Dishes like Avial, Mor Kuzhambu or Koottu taste heavenly when garnished with 1/2 tsp of home made coconut oil.