Mathanga Erissery | Yellow Pumpkin Dhal Curry

Yellow Pumpkin & Tur Dal cooked in coconut paste & dressed with shallots tempering

 What is it that makes us more tempted or attracted towards food? Is it the colour or flavor or aroma or the way it is presented? I guess it differs from person to person, right? Nature has presented us with a wide variety of colours when it comes to food. We have the bright red to baby pink and greens and yellows, even hues of violets.. You know why I got reminded of this suddenly? Coz, I know someone who does not like a particular colour of food and is attracted to some specific colours. Yo, it's none other than my sister. She hates when it is green colour food and loves when mom makes yellow colour food. So that makes pumpkin one of her favorites. But she savors Pumpkin Kootu the best :)

So do you have any specifics in colour when it comes to food? Lemme hear from you on this :) And coming to the dish of the day, it's a Mallu (Kerala special) favorite and is yet another important item on Kerala Sadhya menu. The dish in itself can be had both as a side dish or as a main gravy with steamed rice along with pappad. Either ways, it tastes yum & perfect. There are quite a many variations to this recipe in different parts of Kerala, but the ingredients remain more or less the same. It is just the order & manner in which they appear on the recipe that differs :) So come on, let's see how it is made in a part of Northern Kerala..

Other Sadhya recipes:

Beans Thoran

Beetroot Thoran
Cabbage Thoran

Mathan Erissery | Mathan Vanpayar Erissery

Mampazha Pachadi | Pazhutha Manga Pachadi

Mambazha Pulissery | Mambazha Kaalan

Chembu Kumbalanga Moru Kootan | Taro-Ash Gourd Pulissery

Pulissery | Kachiya Moru | Mor Kuzhambu
Sambar | Kerala Style Varutharacha Sambar with no Coconut

Homemade Ada for Adapradhaman

Recipe Source: Mil

Serves: 4 persons

I Took:

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

I Used:

Yellow Pumpkin	-	2 cups (deseeded & diced)
Tur Dal	-	¼ cup
Red Chilly Powder	-	2 tsp
Turmeric Powder	-	½ tsp
Grated Coconut	-	¼ cup
Cumin seeds	-	½ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed

To Temper:

Oil	-	2 tsp
Mustard Seeds	-	½ tsp
Red Chilly	-	2 or 3 no
Shallots	-	2-3 no
Curry Leaves	-	A sprig

The Way:

1. Wash and clean the tur dal and soak in water for 20 minutes
2. Peel the skin of the pumpkin & discard the soft middle portion with the seeds. Dice the pumpkin & keep aside
3. Add a little water (sufficient enough for the dal to cook) and pressure cook the tur dal for 2 or 3 whistles until almost done
4. Once the whistle is released, remove excess water from the dal if any
5. Add the diced pumpkin pieces, red chilly powder, turmeric powder & salt & pressure cook again for 1 or 2 whistles. Alternately you can cook it uncovered as well, but then add ¼ cup of water to it
6. You may mash the pumpkin once done. If you prefer to have whole pieces reduce the number of whistles
7. Grind together the grated coconut & cumin seeds with 2-3 tbsps of water. Add this to the pumpkin gravy & mix well
8. Allow it on flame for 2-3 minutes until the coconut paste mixes well with the pumpkin and the raw smell goes off
9. In another small pan, heat 2 tsp of oil. Add mustard to it. When it splutters add red chilly, sliced shallots & curry leaves. Fry until they turn golden brown (Do not burn them)
10. Add this tempering over the gravy. Mix well & serve 

Notes:

Instead of the mentioned tempering, you can also do a different one. For that heat coconut oil. Splutter mustard. Add a handful of grated coconut. Keep frying in low flame till the coconut turns golden brown. Take care not to burn them. Once done, add this to the erissery

Cheers,

Chitz