Mathanga Erissery
Pumpkin erissery is a mild and tempered curry with light sweet tones made with pumpkin, cowpeas & coconut. A Kerala traditional dish served during onam sadya.
Servings: 2 to 3
Ingredients
main ingredients
- 200 to 250 grams pumpkin (kaddu) - approx 1.5 to 2 cup peeled and chopped pumpkin
- ½ cup white cowpeas (red cowpeas or lobia or chawli)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder - optional
- salt as required
for the coconut paste
- ¾ cup grated coconut, fresh or frozen
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 green chili
for tempering mathanga erissery
- 12 to 15 curry leaves
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 to 2 dry red chilies - kept whole or broken and deseeded
- 2 to 3 tablespoon grated coconut, fresh or frozen
- 1 or 1.5 tablespoon coconut oil or any vegetable oil
Instructions
preparation
- Rinse the cowpeas well in water.
- Pressure cook them with 2 or 2.5 cups water with some salt till they are cooked completely. Drain and keep aside.
- Rinse the pumpkin & peel and chop into cubes.
making mathanga erissery
- Take the pumpkin cubes and 1 cup water in a pan.
- Add turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt.
- Cover the pan and cook the pumpkin for 12-15 minutes or more on a low flame till they are cooked.
- Check the pumpkin a few times when they are cooking, to see if the water has not dried up. If the water dries up, then add some more water and continue to cook.
- When the pumpkin is cooking, take the grated coconut, green chili and cumin in a grinder jar.
- Add 1/2 cup water and grind to a smooth paste.
- Add this coconut paste to the pumpkins. also add the cooked cowpeas.
- Add 1/2 cup water or more if the consistency looks thick.
- Stir well and place the pan on fire and simmer for 10-12 minutes or more till the flavors are well blended.
- If the curry becomes thick, add some more water.
- When done cover with a lid and keep aside.
making tempering for mathanga erissery
- In a small pan, heat coconut oil. crackle the mustard seeds first.
- Then add the curry leaves and the red chilies.
- Fry till the curry leaves start to become crisp and the color of the red chilies change.
- Add the coconut and saute till the coconut becomes golden.
- The fresh coconut gratings absorb all the oil.
- So keep on stirring and saute on a low flame, so that the coconut does not get burnt and there is even browning.
- Pour this whole tempering mixture into the mathanga erissery.
- Stir and serve pumpkin erissery hot with some steamed rice or sambar.