Darpan recipes : Taste of kerala – Avial, Thoran, & Olan
OLAN
A mildly flavored side dish cooked in coconut milk. Quite similar to Thailand’s famous coconut milk soup, Olan is delicious with steamed rice.
INGREDIENTS
3 cups black-eyed beans
1 cup cubed winter melon
½ cup string beans, 1” pieces
3-4 green chillies, slit
½ cup coconut milk
½ teaspoon cumin powder
SEASONING
2 teaspoons coconut oil
chopped curry leaves
salt to taste
PREPARATION
1. Soak the black-eyed beans for an hour, then cook till tender. Keep this aside.
2. In another pan, add the cubed winter melon, chopped string beans, green chillies, cumin seeds powder, salt and cook on low flame till tender.
3. Mix everything together and add coconut milk. Cook for 5 minutes over low flame.
4. Add chopped curry leaves to garnish. Drizzle with coconut oil and serve.
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THORAN
This dish is best served with sambhar, rasam and papad.
INGREDIENTS
Bunch of string beans, cubed (or black chick peas)
3 tablespoons cooking oil or coconut oil
1/4 teaspoons black mustard seeds
½ teaspoon urad dal (dosa or idli dal)
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ inch piece of ginger
½ onion diced
2-3 green chilies
1 red chili or chili powder
¼ cup grated coconut
4 or 5 curry leaves
½ teaspoon turmeric
salt as needed
PREPARATION
1. Steam the chopped string beans until tender. (Or soak and boil black chick peas) Set it aside.
2. In a pan, heat cooking or coconut oil. Add black mustard seeds and urad dal.
3. Once the oil heats up, mustard seeds would crackle and urad dal would turn golden brown. Add the steamed vegetables.
4. Using a mortar and pestle (or a hand mixer) coarsely grind the grated coconut, cumin seeds, green chillies, and ginger separately. Put aside some grated coconut for garnish.
5. Add the ground mixture to the vegetables, along with salt, turmeric, and chopped curry leaves. Stir it well and heat over low flame.
6. Sprinkle with freshly grated or shaved coconut before serving.
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AVIAL
A traditional Kerala dish that makes a great side for rotis, pooris, and rice.
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ cups winter melon, peeled
1 ½ cups pumpkin, peeled
1 cup zucchini
½ cup string beans
½ cup french beans
¾ cup carrots
½ cup peas
3 or 4 potatoes
1 cup yam, peeled
2 plantains
3 drum sticks (vegetable found in East Indian grocery stores)
Note: You can add almost any vegetable, but avoid tomatoes, eggplant, okra, cabbage, broccoli, beets, radish, turnip, and sweet potatoes.
GRAVY
1 cup coconut shavings
3 or more green chilies
1 ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
3 or 4 shallots peeled
1 ½ cups yogurt
SEASONING
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 twig of curry leaves
2 tablespoons coconut oil
salt as needed
PREPARATION
1. Wash and cut the vegetables into 1 ½ inch strips.
2. Sauté the vegetable in 1 teaspoon coconut oil using a thick bottom pan.
3. Add ½ cup water, turmeric powder, salt and cook over low flame. Keep covered. Vegetables should be cooked tender but should not break.
4. Grind coconut shavings, green chilies, cumin seeds and shallots for gravy. Add this to the cooked vegetables and cook over low flame for 5 minutes.
5. Now add yogurt, and more salt if necessary.
6. Finish with chopped curry leaves and drizzle with coconut oil. Mix well and serve.
House of Dosas 1391 Kingsway Vancouver
