“Olan, A keralan delicacy made using Ash gourd and cooked karamani. Whole dish is simmered in rich coconut milk sauce. “

Olan is a main dish served in onam sadya. It is a very delicate dish which is made using ash gourd and karamani. This is cooked in second coconut milk and then finished with first extract of coconut milk.

Olan is normally served as a side with any spicy curry like sambar. But you can enjoy it with some hot rice as well.

Onam is one of Kerala’s most awaited annual festivals and is celebrated with much grandeur. The 10-day long fiesta is celebrated during the harvest period of late August and early September to celebrate the homecoming of Kerala’s mythical king Mahabali.

Sadhya is a feast of Kerala origin and of importance to all Malayalis, consisting of a variety of traditional vegetarian dishes usually served on a banana leaf in Kerala as lunch. Sadhya means banquet in Malayalam. Sadhya is typically served as a traditional dish for Onam, the state festival of Kerala.

The main dish is plain boiled rice, served along with other dishes collectively called Kootu which include curries like parippu, sambar, rasam, pulisseri and others like kaalan, avial, thoran, olan, pachadi, kichadi, koottukari, erissery, mango pickle, pulinji, naranga achaar (lime pickle), as well as papadam, plantain chips, sharkara upperi, banana, plain curd and buttermilk. The buttermilk is typically served near the end of the meal. The traditional dessert called payasam served at the end of the meal is of many kinds and usually three or more are served. Some of the varieties are Paal Ada, Ada Pradhaman, Paripu pradhaman, chakkapradhaman, etc.

Check out Onam Sadya Lunch Menu

The dishes are served on specific places on the banana leaf in specific order. For example, the pickles are served on the top left corner and the banana on the bottom left corner, which helps the waiters to easily identify and decide on offering additional servings. The most common ingredients in all the dishes are rice, vegetables, coconut and coconut oil as they are abundant in Kerala. Coconut milk is used in some dishes and coconut oil is used for frying and also as an ingredient in others.

Check my Onam Sadhya Complete Menu

Hope you will give this a try and let me know how it turns out for you.

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Olan Recipe

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

Olan , Delicious keralan style ash gourd, karamani curry which is cooked in coconut milk.

Author: Aarthi

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 3 servings

Ingredients

Ash Gourd / Thadiyangai / White Pumpkin - 2 cup chopped
Cooked Karamani - ½ cup
Second Extract Coconut Milk - 2 cups
Salt to taste
Green Chillies - 2 slit
Curry leaves a sprig
Salt to taste
First Extract Coconut Milk - 1 cup

Instructions

Take ash gourd, cooked karamani, green chillies, curry leaves and salt in a pan.
Add in second extract coconut milk and cook covered till vegetable is cooked.
Now take it off the heat and add in first extract of coconut milk.
Mix well and serve.

Notes

1)Cooking the vegetables in the coconut milk adds so mucn flavour to the dish.
2)Turn off the heat when adding thicker first coconut milk, else it may curdle.
3)You can add sliced ginger in this curry
4)You can add more green chillies if you want this to be spicy.
5)Adding a drizzle of coconut oil in the end adds so much flavour.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 120

Pictorial:

1)Take Ashgourd (white pumpkin) / Thadiyangai and green chillies, curry leaves in a kadai.