Olan

This is clearly a Malayali dish, but we Tams (those with a Kerala lineage) have adopted it as our own. It is one of those dishes that has a mild flavour, almost continental, to it.

Ingredients:

• Karamani (essentially Red Beans) known as Alsande kaalu in Kannada
• Soak this overnight
• Cook in a cooker (keep alongwith rice to save fuel since it is the same number of whistles required)
• Yellow pumpkin (1/2 kilo) sliced into thin rectangles
• Green pumpkin (optional, if required)
• Potato (rarely added, but if you want to, add it as thin slices)
• Boil these vegetables with a little salt -and preferably use the water that is drained from the boiled karamani. Boil for about 10 minutes and take off the gas.
• And add coconut oil (3 tbs) at the end to give that unique keralite flavour.

There are people who use coconut milk as well in this, but we never do so.