Olan with pumpkin, ash gourd, lobiya and long bean.

A lovely Saturday evening.  I know my readers are waiting to learn and try out one more delicious Indian dish. So friends please try this dish and give me your feedback. 

Olan when it's done, tastes really good.

Soaked and cooked karamani (lobia)

It almost cooked.

Cook the chopped pumpkin in stoneware with few green chillies.

For olan we chop pumpkin (mathan) this way, sometimes with the skin when the pumpkin is very tender.

The pumpkins were very tender,it still have a long way to have matured seeds.

Home grown pumpkins

Olan made in clay pot

Olan

Ingredients

Ash gourd/elavan - 250 grms

yellowpumpkin/mathan - 250 grms

green chilly - 2

long bean(payar) - 10 nos or

perum payar/cow pea beans - 1/4 cup

coconut milk/cow's milk - 1 cup

coconut oil - 2 tsp

curry leaves a few

salt as required

Method 

Soak and pressure cook perum payar/cow pea for two whistles. 

Wash, peel and chop ash gourd and yellow pumpkin into thin pieces.

If you want you can add long bean instead of cow pea beans, cut long bean into 1 inch long. 

In kalchatti/clay pot pour hot water add all the vegetables,salt and green chilly cook till soft. Off the stove add cooked cow pea beans and coconut milk and pour 2 tsp of coconut oil add curry leaves. You can serve this as a side dish with sambhar. 

Note : I have made olan without perum payar.  As I had a handful of fresh payar from my terrace garden. You can either add soaked and cooked perum payar or fresh payar(long bean) I should thank my fb friend for pointing out this! See I have such wonderful people who really encourage me - feeling blessed

Yet another suggestion from my fb friend you can make olan without mathan. Yes try making olan without adding mathan. 

I always respect Grandmothers. They are the best when it comes to traditional cooking. Now you understand the little secrets fondly they share to younger generation! 

We at home sometimes even add a few jack fruit seeds(Yes cooked, peeled and smashed!) You can try adding cooked and peeled colocasia to olan, It will give a special texture to olan. I will try next time to add colocasia. 

chop elavan and mathan into thin slices.

Drumsticks, turkey berry(chundakkai) avarakkai (hyacinth beans) sambhar and olan.