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‘O’ is for Olan
May 3, 2007 |
A stew from Kerala that is deceptively simple and very flavourful. One of our favourites.
The fresh flavours of green chillies and curry leaves hold centre stage in this dish. No oil is used. We prepare this from time to time, usually with white pumpkin (ash gourd/winter melon) or the yellow variety. This particular recipe from Das Sreedharan’s Fresh Flavours of India combines winter melon and potatoes. It yields a creamier result.
It’s a beautiful book, highlighting recipes from Kerala. The author is vegetarian, and so are his restaurants and most of his recipes, though he has included some non-vegetarian delicacies prepared by his team. Sreedharan’s Rasa chain of restaurants in England make for a truly memorable culinary experience. Our edition of the book is the older one and has some glaring typos. The rasam recipe, for instance, calls for 4 oz. tamarind. We followed the recipe faithfully despite our reservations and found it too sour to be edible. The author probably meant 0.4 oz. Hopefully, these typos have been cleaned up in the new edition.
Black-eyed peas can be substituted with red cowpeas (red chori).
OLAN
Ingredients
100g (3.5 oz) black eyed peas dried (or 2 cups canned)
1 potato, peeled and cubed (1.5 cups)
400g/14 oz white or yellow pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cubed (we used ash gourd/winter melon)
4 green chillies, slit lengthwise
200ml/7floz fresh or canned coconut milk
12 Curry leaves
Salt
Method
1. Cover the peas with water in a pan and simmer for 30 min. or pressure cook for one whistle until cooked. Drain and set aside. If using canned peas, rinse and drain well.
2. In a large saucepan, bring 450 ml/16 fl oz of water to a boil.
3. Add the potato and a litle salt and cook over a medium heat for 10 mins. until done.
4. Add the pumpkin and the green chillies, cover and cook for 10 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
5. Add the coconut milk and stir gently under low heat.
6. Add the beans and the curry leaves, mix well and allow the beans to heat through.
Serve hot with rice or paalappams. Tastes better the next day.
Our entry for Nupur’s A to Z Vegetable Challenge at One Hot Stove for ‘O’.
See Mallugirl’s, InjiPennu’s, and Ammani’s versions of Olan.
‘O‘ is also for
Occupational Hazards of Blogging With Your Partner
He may disclose embarrassing family secrets.
Check out this surreal exchange between Suganya and Jai in the comments section of the previous post.
Suganya:
Oh Dear!! I dread visiting the Chinese store here. I will have to hold my breath till I reach the last aisle which is the Indian food aisle. But this one is too good to pass. Lets see how brave I am!!!
Jai:
LOL here. I am not the only one !! When I was in the Bay Area - whenever I went to the Chinese store I’d first rush to the incense sticks aisle. I would grab the most fragrant one. Find one which does not have any plastic wrapping around them. Longer ones are better because you can discreetly rest them vertically while pushing the cart so that they would reach atleast to your chin - works better when you slip open the cover slightly !Then you can safely walk around the store inhaling the fragrance of your choice. Try this. It never failed me - although b would refuse to walk next to me as she was certain that I was not being discreet enough and hence was too embarrassed. I couldn’t care less as they were getting my business one way or the other.
When we lived in Silicon Valley, California, I would insist that he accompany me to the Chinese store - Lion Market. What was I thinking???
He would protest. After some negotiations and the lure of the pastry shop next door, he would agree to come along. This TamBrahm guy can’t stand the smell of fish or the sight of unpacked meat.
He tried. He even ate a bit of halibut once when I asked him to taste my dish at a restaurant. He decided he didn’t want anything to do with seafood. Ever.
So, here at the Lion Market parking lot, he sniffs the air, 50 feet from the store entrance, and announces loudly, “I can smell that STENCCHH from HEERRRE !!!“. I want to crawl under a rock, or my Subaru.
After decking him.
However, I remember my vows: through sickness and through health, through temporary insanity and visits to Lion Market.
So I pinch him and hiss, “Shut up, will ya?” By now we are at the entrance.
He yells, even louder: “Ouch, that hurt. And this place REALLYY STINKSSSS!!” Everyone is watching us.
The first visit, he scoped out the store holding his breath, and found the incense on Aisle 7. He dashes there, finds the longest bundle without the plastic wrapper. He holds it under his nose like a bouquet, while I get a cart. By now, he’s lost. I can’t find him. Not a problem, ‘cos right now I don’t want to be associated with him.
I go around the store leisurely, and where do I bump into The Incense Wielder? Near the glass aquarium shelves where the live fish are doing the rounds. Right next to the piles of cut fish that have a really pronounced odour. He’s so fascinated by the live fish and octopus, and the incense is so strong, he doesn’t seem to mind. I tell him to see me at the checkout. When I’m putting my stuff on the conveyor belt, he shows up. No, he didn’t keep the incense back on its shelf at Aisle 7.
It is still positioned under his nose. He also has a basket full of mochi, fruits, sesame crackers and miso paste. I ask him to pay for my purchases and wait at a safe distance.
The checkout clerk asks him if she can scan the incense to ring it up. He keeps holding it and says, “No ma’am, I’m leaving it behind”. She looks confused, but rings up the rest of the stuff. After he has paid and signed out, he hands the incense back to the lady at the counter, and comes outside the store.
With some relief I start walking to the car to load the bags. On cue, he announces loudly, “It feels so good to get out of that STINKKKYYY place !!!!!”
Pastry shop be damned, I need to get outta here.
- Bee
___________________________________________________________
Related posts
Ash-Gourd/Winter-Melon, Beans, Beans-(Dried), BOOK REVIEWS, BOOKS, Chilli, Chillies/Peppers, Coconut, Curry leaves, Pumpkin/Squash, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes
SPEAK YOUR MIND
35 Comments so far
oh my it really stinks i can imagine my first visit to the wet markets! Thats a cute writup i know how you would feel dear :)! At least Jai found a way to accompany you with incense stick which helped him na!
Bee and Jai, you guys are such sweethearts-you just made a favorite of mine 
thanks a ton. try Olan with cucmbers once!
a friend made it for me, and trust me it tastes superb (that was the first time i had olan)…..have tried it with majority of gourd family of vegetables, but that cucumber flavor, aha! will try your recipe with potato. and yes, i agree every bit with “tastes better the next day” :).
the scond part of your post is total fun, though i know what you mean and also understand why Jai did what he did :-D
Bee n jai wonderful recipe and that was a funny thing abt jai, even I had a problem with the korean store here , but i didnt run for Incense sticks, I hold my breath while entering and start breathing with my mouth, knowing its not healthy but cant help!
I must remember to do that when we go to the Asian market here - hand Medha some agarbattis! She walks around with her sweatshirt or jacket draped around her nose. She also makes it a point to stand at the counter where they sell roast duck and make yeowing sounds very loudly. I literally drag her around and once I was very tempted to give her one kaanphatt…
I think she will get on famously with Jai.
Haaaa Bee
What a cute cute and funny post, i love the way you write! I wanna second musical on trying olan with cucumbers, the first time I tried it, there was no dhoodhi or any pumpkin in the house and i decided to try it with cucumbers, and my hubby says its the best olan he’s ever had. I dont make it with any other thing anymore, just cucumbers…!!
:lol: that is so cute. I am with Jai on this. Those markets really stink though I don’t mind the fish from there 
Olan looks tempting and also that picture of cookbook
i dont blame Jai… drag me, bribe me, scold me, push me… nahhhhh… i am not gonna go anywhere near that stinking place… i almost fainted when i stepped first time and since then krish has not asked me go with him
lovely dish…new to me…never tried it before…picture looks great…the book seems interesting too…thanks for sharing
It is not 8 in the morning yet and they two of you have me roaring with laughter - thanks. A nice way to start my day.
I’ve placed 2 of Das’ books on my wishlist. I liked his food in the collaborative book, Curry.
I thought of Olan too for “O”,but changed my mind!!! I do have that Das book,it’s great,has some authentic dishes.
My kids do not come in to any Indian stores bcos the smell of spices and they sit in the car while we go in to shop!!:D
Have a great weekend both of you.
Hey, great minds do think alike I guess, I made O for Olan too . Potato is a great addition!
LOL for the second part, occupational hazards of just having a partner I guess. 
hahahahaha…… I will remember this trick when I go to the wet market next time!!!!!
“‘Tis the season of Olan” if I may add!!!!!!!
Just now I saw “Olan” at Sig’s and now you…should I sing “Ole, Ole” or what
I want to see you going around in the Asian Market, so next time give me a holler :)We “fishy” folks are perfectly at home there though
me being a TamBrahm , i side with jai . There is nothing wrong in voicing ur opinion out loud . Its a democratic country
when my parents were here 3 yrs back , we went to SF pier 39 & were waiting in line..My parents & myself started talking loudly abt Taliban & osama. My husband wanted to run away from there:)
Oh Bee ..Olan my the favt in kerala recipe ..Being a Palghat Brhm i really am a FAN of this one ..will surely try ur version of Olan ..we usely add white and yellow pumkin and make it …
nice one for “o”, I love olan. funny writeup about Jai and the chinese market.:))
I am with Jai on this! Boy those places reeeeeeeeeeeeaallly STINK!!!:( and the first time I went to Market World (the Korean mkt in my city) I almost fainted! I barely managed to crawl outta there! And guess what I saw?? Beef legs or some such thing!eeewwww!!! my hubby, not believing me went back to take a glance!! eeeeww again!!
Neyway.. I wanted to make Olan too! (DH has a ‘psychologival allergy’ to anything with coconut!) but thought of another dish..
That is hilarious Bee! I am rolling here :-) Can just imagine Jai doing that… how typical :-)
The olan looks good! I want the recipe for that poriyal on the cover of the book. Looks like some kinda tidnora curry! Looks appetizing!
Lovely dish and new to me ..
hahaha….now whenever i make olan, i am going to giggle about the stench and thinking of this….hehehehe
HaHa,it really does stink though, no doubts about that..I usually sniff my arm…
“L’air Du Temps” smells so much better….
Olan is new…saw it on Sig’s blog too.
Glad you liked the tune, Bee…album is ” Essence of India”, by, yes, my pretty boy.
Have a lovely weekend.
Oh, I can almost smell it…the lovely olan, not the smelly fish market! Thanks for a wonderful entry!
Try coffee powder next time :D, That works too…
Hmmm…. I’m thinking that maybe Bee admires Jai’s bravado and he admires her consideration. I know for certain that I am looking at my incense differently…
I can’t even begin to list the reasons this post had me howling with laughter. Let’s just say I can empathise — completely! Now about your olan: I was just this very morning in a great Asian market and bought me a little piece of winter melon. Would that work? The finished dish looks so appetizing
yes, linda. winter melon (ash gourd) is what’s traditionally used, though some friends here tell me cucumber is made for this dish. - b.
You can use under-ripe honeydew melon too…
Olan looks delicious.
I can completely understand Jai on this one. Recently, I went to a chinese store for the first time in my life inspite of my husband’s warning. I had to rush out as fast as I went in.
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Jai is so cute…Bee I know how you feel..LOL