This instant pot Olan is a traditional dish from Kerala, where black eyes peas and vegetables like pumpkin, ashgourd are cooked in a simple coconut based sauce served with rice.
Olan, a traditional dish from Kerala cuisine is one of the simplest comforting dish you will come across. It takes its flavours from the sweetness of the coconut sauce, spiciness from green chillies and some aromatic spices. Since the dish is pretty mild by itself, it tastes great when served with something spicy.
I do not remember eating this dish growing up. My mom did not know a lot of recipes from Kerala. After I started cooking and began exploring different kinds of food, I came across the onam sadhya spread which is such a feast to look at. This olan is one of the dishes that is made for the occasion.
So how did I finally get to making this dish? I had a huge bottle of black eyed peas sitting in my pantry and thanks to the quarantine (due to corona virus) and the online grocery shopping which we are having to do as off late, I have been trying to use all the stuff I have in my pantry that have been neglected. I was talking to a friend of mine, who is a big foodie and asked her for ideas to use these lentils. She suggested this vegan kerala curry recipe and I thought it was incredibly easy.
I am not a big fan of black eyed peas and maybe that’s one of the reason I haven’t used a lot of these in the past. But they work so well in this recipe and I actually added a little more than what is traditionally added in the recipe. This might not be the perfect olan recipe. For starters, it has carrots, which I am told, are not added. But hey, given the situation, I have been working with the veggies I have, so excuse me for using some carrots in the recipe. But they tasted great in the recipe and I am not complaining.
The vegan kerala curry recipe is incredibly easy and I can’t emphasise this enough. You could have a little diluted version as a soup. Trust me, tastes so good! But if you are planning a proper South Indian meal and want to make this dish, I would suggest you make some spicy thogayal (chutney) or spicy vegetable and some rice to go with this.
Let’s see how to do this vegan kerala curry recipe.
A delicious coconut based vegan kerala curry made with pumpkins, black eyed peas and spices
Soak the blackeyed peas overnight in water
Chop the veggies in big chunks. (Traditionally only yellow pumpkin and ash gourd /white pumpkin is used. But I used carrots instead of white pumpkin as I did not have it. Feel free to use carrots if you wish. )
Switch on the saute mode in your instant pot and add the coconut oil.
When it heats up, add the mustard seeds, curry leaves green chilly and let the mustard seeds splutter.
Now add the vegetables, soaked lentils, salt and thin coconut milk.
Cook on manual / pressure cook mode for 3 minutes. Release pressure naturally. You can cook it longer, but the vegetables will turn mushy.
Open up add the thick coconut milk, mix everything and serve with rice.
If you are not making this for a festive occassion where you don’t have to worry about the recipe being authentic, feel free to add veggies like carrots, squash etc.
Diluted version of this recipe tastes good like a soup.
Like this vegan kerala curry recipe? Try it and share the images on social media with the hashtag #cookingwithpree. Would love to see what you guys make! Also please leave a comment and give it a rating! Would love to connect with all of you 🙂
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Have you tried Instant Pot Olan before? What are you currently making in your Instant Pot? Let me know in a comment below!
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