Zucchini Olan | Kerala Onam Sadhya Recipe | Kerala Style Olan with Zucchini

This is one interesting Kerala Sadhya recipe that has been lying in my drafts for quite a while now. With Onam just around the corner, I thought to post it today so that if any of you want to try some interesting recipes for this Onam can do so :) Yes today's post is an Olan with Zucchini.. Olan is something that is always approved by the hubby, so I try and make as many varieties with the different veggies. Ash Gourd and Yellow Pumpkin are the most common ones used for making Olan, but you can also use Cheranga (Bottle Gourd) or Zucchini as well. While making Olan with yellow pumpkin alone I sometimes skip coconut milk. Believe me, it tastes yum too, a littler more subtle Olan. But with Cheranga and Zucchini, I don't skip coconut milk. Because those veggies as such are bland and coconut milk truly takes the flavour to the next level :) So let's now see how to make this easy and yummy olan with zucchini. If you are trying to make variety dishes with Zucchini, then this is not going to disppoint you for sure ! 

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Soaking Time: 8 hours

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

I Used:

Zucchini	-	1 medium sized - ¾ cup heaped (after cutting)
Red Eyed Beans/Vanpayar	-	¼ cup heaped (after boiling)
Green Chilly	-	2 nos
Coconut Milk	-	½ cup
Salt	-	As needed
Curry leaves	-	A sprig
Coconut Oil	-	1 tbsp

The Way:

1. Rinse and soak the vanpayar (red beans - I used 1/8 cup of the beans to soak) overnight for around 8 hours. In the morning, discard the water. Take the beans in a pressure cooker. Add enough water (around 2 cups) and salt and pressure cook till done. It took me 2 whistles in high and 2 in low. Keep aside

2. While they get cooked, extract the coconut milk and keep ready. I used around ½ cup of grated coconut and ¼ cup of water and ground it in a mixie till the coconut was smoothly ground. Then using a muslin cloth, extracted the milk from the ground coconut

3. Cut and discard the skin of the zucchini. Cut them into thin cubes as shown in the picture. The thickness should not be more than ¼ inch along both width and length

4. Now take the cut pieces in a saucepan and add required salt and green chilly along with little water (¼ cup) and cook it till done. It will take around 12-15 minutes to get cooked

5. If there is excess water after cooking the zucchini, I remove them. Else the coconut milk becomes very thin. Add the cooked beans (a heaped ¼ cup) without water to the veggies. Give a gentle stir

6. Then add in the coconut milk and curry leaves and again give a gentle stir. Check the salt now. Add if required. Once the coconut milk is added, it should not boil. It should only get warm. And it would take about a minute or so. Switch off the flame. Add coconut oil and just swirl the pan

Transfer to the serving dish and serve along with rasam and pickle or as a dish in your Onam Sadhya leaf !

Cheers,

Chitz