Pumpkin Erisseri

 
Onam, Vishu, Diwali – all these festivals make me very nostalgic of the good times I had celebrating with family back home and sometimes a little sad too as I start to miss those times. In the last few years we have been building a family of friends here and it feels just as great to celebrate such special occasions with them. Over these 3 years I am pretty impressed with myself at having never failed to make a full fledged home made sadya for Onam and Vishu. This year for Onam we had a few friends over for a home made sadya and it was lot of fun sitting on the floor and eating on banana leaves together with everyone just like times back home.


The menu had Vendakka Kichadi (Tempered Crispy Okra on a Coconut-Ginger-Yogurt gravy), Pineapple Pachadi ( Crushed Pineapple in a lightly spiced Coconut-Jaggery gravy), Avial ( mixed vegetables in a coconut- yoghurt gravy), Erisseri ( Pumpkin with ground coconut), Olan (Melon and Red Beans in Coconut Milk), Kalan (Plantains and Melon in a Coconut-Yogurt gravy), Sambar and Parippu Curry (Lentil and coconut curry). For dessert we had Ada Pradhaman (Rice Flakes cooked in Jaggery and Coconut milk) and Semiya Payasam (Vermicelli Pudding). You will find most of these recipes in some of my earlier posts here. I will be posting the ones that are missing there one by one starting with the Pumpkin Erisseri. Erisseri (also Erissheri or Erissery) is a spiced ground coconut dish that can be made with a variety of vegetables like Pumpkin ( can be substituted with Kabocha or Butternut Squash), Raw Plantain, Mixed Vegetables etc. I made the pumpkin version this time.

Pumpkin Erisseri – The Recipe

2 cups peeled and cubed pumpkin 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1 cup red beans / red chori / azuki beans ( can be substituted with black eyed peas) salt For Grinding 1/2 cup ground coconut 2 tsp red chilli powder 1 Thai bird chilli 1/2 tsp cumin seeds For tempering 1/2 tsp coconut oil 4-5 curry leaves 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 2-3 dried red chillies

Soak the beans in water for a few hours and cook them well. (I pressure cooked them). Bring 1 cup water to a boil and add the pumpkin and the turmeric powder to it. Cook till the pumpkin is soft and tender. Mash and keep aside. Grind all the ingredients together, under “for grinding”, to a very smooth paste. Add this to the mashed pumpkin. Add a little water if it is too thick and cook a little more over medium heat. Add the cooked beans and salt. Heat the oil for tempering and add the mustard seeds, once they splutter add the curry leaves and red chillies and pour over the erisseri.



Happy Onam to all my readers!!!