A Quick and Easy Wintermelon Dish (Olan): A Curry for Pitta

Olan is a quite popular dish in South India. A Sadya, the South Indian Feast, is incomplete without an Olan. With a blend of healthy vegetables, Olan is a nutritious dish that’s perfect to be added to your diet. It goes well with white rice, brown rice, quinoa, couscous, appam and wheat bread. The main ingredient of Olan is Winter Melon (also known as ash gourd or wax gourd) that’s simmered in coconut milk. Winter melon is good for the brain, breast milk, and gut. And, it’s a popular cooling vegetable. Olan is a simple dish that has minimal ingredients and is light and subtle in flavour. Let’s see how it’s prepared.

Ingredients

• Adzuki beans (Red Cow Peas / Van Payar) – 1/2 Cup
• Ash gourd (Kumbalanga) – 2 Cups
• Green Chilly 3 numbers or black pepper a quarter of a teas spoon (crushed)
• Coconut Cream – 1 Cup
• Salt to taste
• Water – 2 Cup
• Curry Leaves – 2 String
• Coconut Oil – 2 Teaspoons

Preparation

1. Soak adzuki beans for a whole night.

2. Boil the beans for 4 minutes.

3. Peel off the skin of the winter melon and dice it into small pieces.

4. Toss the adzuki beans into a pan. Add winter melon, chillies, water and salt into the pan and cook for 3 minutes.

5. Once everything is cooked properly, add coconut cream to it and cook for another 2 minutes.

6. Now, add the coconut oil and curry leaves to the pan. Let the content heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until it begins to boil.

The delicious Pumpkin Olan is ready to enjoy!