Erissery

Dassana Amit describes Erissery as a Kerala curry family made with vegetables or legumes, coconut paste and a tempering. This profile selects her Mathanga, or pumpkin, Erissery with white cowpeas, which she associates with Onam Sadya.

The cowpeas are rinsed in water and pressure-cooked with their own water and a little salt until softened, then drained. Pumpkin is rinsed, peeled and cubed, then cooked separately with turmeric, the chosen optional red chili powder, salt and water until tender.

Fresh grated coconut, cumin and chopped green chili are ground into a smooth paste with separate water. That paste and the same cooked cowpeas join the pumpkin. Additional water loosens the mixture as needed while it simmers to a thick or slightly thick curry.

The tempering starts with coconut oil and crackling mustard seeds. Curry leaves and the selected broken dried red chilies are fried, then a separate portion of fresh grated coconut is added and stirred until golden.

The entire browned-coconut tempering is poured into the same curry and stirred through. The author offers the finished Erissery hot or warm with ready steamed rice; she describes the pumpkin version as mild and slightly sweet, with the browned coconut adding flavor and texture.