Olan (white pumpkin in coconut milk)

Submitted by: Mala D

This famous recipe from Kerala could easily pass off as a Bong dish were it not for the use of coconut oil & curry patta! Chal kumro is also a very popular vegetable among the South Indians, and though most people outside south India would turn up their nose at the mention of coconut oil (maybe childhood memory of greasy hair!), let me tell you that vegan groups are ardently promoting the use of natural, unprocessed coconut oil in all their recipes! In any case; you can always substitute it with the regular refined oil. This recipe evokes Shukto in it's simplicity & flavourfulness.

Ingredients:
White pumpkin: 250 gms
Black-eyed peas(chowli): 100-150 gms
Coconut milk: 200 ml
Coconut oil/refined oil: 2 tbsp
Ginger: 3 inches
Green chillies: 4-5
Curry leaves: 12
Salt: to taste

Method:
Soak the beans overnite & boil them with 1 cup water & little salt in the pressure cooker till one whistle. Drain the water (you may use the water in dal/curry). Peel,wash & coarsely grate the chal kumro.

Slice the ginger in thin, long strips. Slice the green chillies. Heat oil, temper with mustard seeds & add ginger, chillies & curry patta. Toss a while. Then add the grated chal kumro. Fry a bit, add salt, cover & cook till 3/4 done. Now add the drained beans. Mix well. When done, pour the coconut milk & cook on sim for 1-2 minutes. Close flame. Garnish with fried curry leaves & few drops of coconut oil. Serve hot with rice.

Note: coconut milk is commercially available but you can make it at home. Soak 150 gms of grated coconut in hot water for about 10 minutes & then grind in the same water. Pass thru a muslin cloth, pressing hard. It will ooze thick, creamy milk. Discard the coconut.

Chaal Kumro Chingri (white pumpkin with shrimps)

Posted by: Mala D

Chaal kumro was explained nicely by another blogger Pratima D here,i just want to add that this vegetable is considered a "non-veg" item! On Kali Puja night, those who want to avoid an animal sacrifice, offer chaal kumro to the Goddess. This recipe is considered a Bong delicacy & is also cooked using Laou (bottle gourd) instead of white pumpkin but I feel it tastes better with chaal kumro.

Ingredients:
White pumpkin: 1/2 kg
Shrimps: 150-200 gms,medium-sized
Mustard oil/refined oil: 1-1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 2tsp
Red chilli powder: 1-1/2 tsp
Salt: to taste
Sugar: 1/2 tsp
Corriander leaves: a handful
Green chillies: 2-4
Nigella seeds(kalonji/kala jeera)

Method:
Peel & de-vein the shrimps, their heads should already be removed at the fish monger's. Wash properly & drain the water. Put them in a bowl & apply 1 tsp turmeric powder,1 tsp red chilli powder & 1/4 tsp salt. Mix well & keep aside for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel, deseed & cut the white pumpkin into small pieces. Wash well & drain in a sieve.

Heat oil in a frying pan, add the shrimp, keep tossing for about 2 minutes & take them out. In the same oil, add kala jeera & sliced green chillies, when they crackle, add the white pumpkin. Toss them for a while, add salt & 1 tsp turmeric & 1/2 tsp red chilli powder & mix  well. Cover & cook it on low flame. Chaal kumro releases a lot of water so extra water is not needed. Keep checking from time to time. When it's 3/4 done, add sugar & toss around. Now add the fried shrimps & mix them with the curry. Shrimps cooks really fast, about 3-4 minutes in total time, so just cook the curry on a high flame to dry out the water if any. Dish out & garnish with chopped corriander leaves. Serve hot with rice.

Chal Kumro with bhaja moong daal

Recipe by: Pratima D


Chal kumro, is not pumpkin and not lauki. It looks like a lau, but is darker green in color and is hairy on the outside. Petha, a north Indian sweet, is made from this. In the US it is available in both Indian and Chinese groceries.


Ingredients: 
Chal kumro: 1 lb

Yellow Moong daal: Half cup
Jeera seeds half tsp
Bay leaf: 2
Green chili slit in two: 2
Ginger: 1 inch
Jeera powder: 1 1/2  tsp
Haldi: 1/2 tsp
Salt: to taste
Sugar: 1/2 tsp
Oil: 2 tbsp
Ghee: 1 tsp (optional)

Peel the chal kumro and cut it into rectangular pieces about an inch long. 
Roast the moong dal in a pan. Wash in cold water. Add 2 cups of water and boil. Once the daal is half cooked, add the chal kumro, salt, haldi, green chili and cook it till it is 3/4th cooked.
Make fresh Ginger paste and mix it with jeera powder. In a skillet heat the oil and add the jeera seeds, bay leaf, and ginger paste. Saute the paste until it is slightly brown. Add the fried paste to the daal and chal kumro. Add the sugar.  Cook it for about 2 more minutes, make sure the daal and chal kumro are cooked. Stop the heat, add one teaspoon ghee, mix it, cover with a lid. Serve with white rice. You can also have it with Roti.

Since there is no onion, garlic, tomato in this recipe, it is ideal for pure vegetarian and Santoshi Ma recipes.