Olan | Kerala Ash Gourd and Cowpea Curry in Coconut Milk

A light, mild Kerala stew made with ash gourd and cooked black-eyed peas, simmered in coconut milk and finished with a simple tempering. Often called the mildest dish on the entire Onam Sadya banana leaf.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine kerala, South Indian

Keyword olan recipes

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings people

Calories 132kcal

Author Puja

Equipment

Ingredients

1 tsp coconut oil
2 sprigs curry leaves
1-2 green chilies slit (optional, olan is meant to be mild, add only if you want a touch of heat)
300 grams ash gourd white pumpkin, diced
1/4-1/2 cup black-eyed peas lobia, cooked (you can add more if you want)
1 tsp salt or to taste
1 cup thin coconut milk
1/2 cup thick coconut milk

Instructions

In a pot, add the diced ash gourd, thin coconut milk, and salt. If using chili, add it at this stage.
Cover and simmer on low-medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the ash gourd is tender. (you can cook without covering also, but it will take some more time to cook)
Add the cooked black-eyed peas and mix gently.
Pour in the reserved thick coconut milk.
Let it simmer for only 1 to 2 minutes, just enough to combine. Do not let it boil hard.
Turn off the heat.
In a small pan, heat the coconut oil. Add curry leaves and let them sizzle briefly.
Pour this tempering over the olan and serve warm with rice.

Notes

Keep the thick and thin coconut milk separate while prepping.

Add thin milk early for cooking, and thick milk only at the very end.

If the coconut milk splits, it almost always means it was boiled too long or too hard.

Keep the heat low once the thick milk goes in.

Pumpkin can be substituted for ash gourd, especially in Malabar-style versions.

Nutrition