Pumpkin Red Bean Erissery

We made some beautiful memories this weekend at Coconut Lagoon in Kumarakom. Topmost among them was the mouth watering, traditional Kerala food served in their Ettukettu resturant. Their Kappa Perlan, Neimeen Mulagaittathu, Pineapple Pulissery, Pavakka Ulli Theeyal, Payaar Kumbu Thoran, Gothambu Payasam, etc. had us all in a food coma :)

The chefs were generous in sharing their tips and secrets with us. In a cooking demo, Chef Naveen MC (cheflagoon@cghearth.com) cooked Matanga (Pumpkin) Payaar (Red Bean) Erissery for us. The flavor booster lay in roasting the shredded coconut with spices to a dark brown color, for the final tempering. It elevated the humble pumpkin to a whole new level of distinctive taste.

Lest I forget, I made this Errisery for lunch today and savoured it with steamed white rice, lime pickle and pappadums.

Ingredients:

Yellow pumpkin (Matanga), 1/2 kg (1 lb)
Grated ginger, 1 tbsp
Black pepper powder, 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder, 1/2 tsp
Water, 1 cup plus 1/2 cup
Dry Red beans (Van Payaar), 1/2 cup
Grated coconut, 1/2 cup plus 1/2 cup, total 1 cup
Green chillies, 2 to 3, as per spicy level
Cumin seeds, 1 tsp
Curry leaves, 2 sprigs
Mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp
Whole red chilli, 2 to 3, as per spicy level
Sliced shallots, 1/2 cup
Coconut oil, 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash the dry red beans and cook in the pressure cooker with 1 cup of water, for 2 whistles. When cooked, drain excess water and keep aside.

Remove the pumpkin peel and cut into cubes. Mix these cubes with salt, pepper, turmeric and red chilli powders, in a cooking pot. Add 1/2 cup water and 1 sprig of curry leaves. Boil on medium fire until pumpkin cubes are half cooked.

Grind 1/2 cup grated coconut with green chillies and cumin into a fine paste. Add this coconut mixture and the red beans to the half cooked pumpkin. Cook on a low fire until the pumpkin is completely cooked.

Prepare the tempering by heating the coconut oil in a shallow fry pan. Add the musturd seeds. Once they splutter, add whole red chilli, sliced shallots, a sprig of curry leaves and the remaining grated coconut. On a medium fire, saute this mix, until the shallots are roasted and the coconut turns dark brown. Add this tempering to the simmering pumpkin-bean errissery and mix well.

Adjust salt to taste. Serve with steamed rice.