Kadala Mathanga Erissery (Kerala Pumpkin Curry for Sadya)

Kadala Mathanga Erissery is a traditional Kerala curry made with pumpkin, coconut, and chickpeas, and is an essential part of a festive Sadya meal.

This mildly spiced dish is commonly prepared during Onam and Vishu, where it is served as one of the many side dishes on a banana leaf. The combination of sweet pumpkin, creamy coconut, and crunchy tempering makes it a flavorful addition to the Sadya spread.

About this recipe and some memories!

When I planned for an elaborate Sadya, it was great planning the entire meal and it was very quick to assemble the feast. If you have a good plan, the entire Sadya hardly takes about 2 to 3 hours.

We had started a new theme in BM to feature three alphabets each month and this month it was going to be D, E, and F. So Erissery Recipe is for E!.

What is Erissery?

Erissery is a traditional Kerala curry made with vegetables like pumpkin or yam, combined with legumes such as chickpeas or red beans, and finished with a coconut-based paste and tempering.

It is known for its mildly sweet, nutty flavor and is typically served as part of a Sadya meal.

Where Does Erissery Fit in a Sadya?

Erissery is served as a side dish in a traditional Sadya.

• Placed on the top portion of the banana leaf
• Served along with other vegetable dishes
• Mixed with rice and enjoyed with sambar or rasam

Sadhya or Sadya is Kerala's special festival feast on special days like Onam or Vishu. Apart from this, they also cook Sadya on wedding occasions and other gatherings at home.

We prepare this Gluten-free, No Onion No Garlic, Vegan curry with pumpkin, kadala in a coconut gravy and served as a side dish during Sadya.

You can have a combination of vegetables and pulses to prepare Erisseri. We also use a ground paste made of fresh coconut along with green chilies and finally tempered with roasted coconut.

More Sadya Recipes to Try

• Explore the complete Onam Sadya menu
• Follow this Sadya preparation guide to plan your cooking
• Try dishes like Avial, Thoran, and Sambar for a complete meal

Tips for Making Perfect Erissery

• Use ripe pumpkin for natural sweetness
• Grind coconut paste without adding too much water
• Add tempering at the end for best flavor

Other Sadya Dishes you can make

PIN This Erissery Recipe for Later!

Along with this simple side dish, you can make other easy-to-make dishes like this Kerala Style Potato dry saute, Kerala Paruppu Curry

Ingredients that you can use in making Erissery

Typically we use pumpkin, mostly red ones to make this curry. Some use Yam as well.
Lentil / Pulse: In lentils, we use Vanpayar or Red Cow Peas. Some replace this with regular white cowpea or black-eyed peas.
Coconut masala always uses fresh coconut along with green chilies.

Making of Kadala Mathanga Erissery / Erissery Recipe

Before starting other processes, get the Vegetable and lentil cooked:
Wash and soak brown Chickpea or Kadala for at least 5 to 6 hours or overnight. Drain the water, rinse the chickpea a couple of times and pressure cook for at least 4 whistles or till the chickpeas are soft and keep aside.
Similarly, peel and dice the pumpkin into thick chunks. Take it in a pan with 1/2 cup of water along with salt and turmeric powder. Cook till the pumpkin is tender. This takes about 10 mins. Once you remove from the flame, slightly mash the cooked pieces with the ladle.

This Simple meal was part of our Onam 2020 meal featuring Mor Kulambu, Garlic Rasam, Erisseri, with Rice and Kerala papadam

As with all Sadya recipes, this curry uses freshly ground masala made with coconut, cumin seeds, and green chilies. We make a thick smooth paste of freshly grated coconut along with red chili, cumin seeds, and green chilies. Add water as required to grind to a smooth paste and keep it aside.

Cooking the Erisseri

To the cooked pumpkin add the cooked chickpea and the ground coconut masala. Bring to a boil and simmer and adjust the salt.
Cook for 5 to 7 mins on low flame.
When the gravy is thick enough, we will temper it:
For tempering, coconut oil is always the best oil to use. So heat a small pan, add coconut oil, mustard seeds. Once they crackle add whole dry red chilies and curry leaves. Now add the grated coconut, reduce the heat and saute until the coconut has turned brown.
Once the coconut is well roasted, add the tempering to the pumpkin mixture. Mix well and serve with rice

Cooking Tips for this Erissery Recipe:

Since the mathanga or pumpkin is a water vegetable, always cook on the stovetop. Pressure cooking makes it very mushy.
This gravy has slightly mashed pumpkin, you can use your ladle to mash it once it is cooked.
Using fresh coconut for the best taste. Cooking in Coconut Oil makes it very flavoursome and keeps the authentic taste and flavor.

Recipe

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5 from 4 votes

Erissery Recipe | Kadala Mathanga Erissery

Erissery is an easy recipe to make and has a prominent place in the Sadya. This Kadala Mathanga Erissery is a delicious side dish served along with Rice.

Course Main Dish - Gravies

Cuisine Kerala

Keyword Easy Sadya Dishes, Healthy Side Dish

By Cook Method Stovetop

Occasion Festival Meal, Onam Sadya

By Diet Healthy Recipes

Dish Type Festival Food

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Srivalli

Ingredients

Ingredients needed for Mathanga Kadala Errisseri

For the Vegetable & Lentil:

• 2 cups Pumpkin
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup Black Chickpea / Kadala

Ground Masala for the gravy

• 1 cup Coconut grated
• 2 to 3 nos Green Chillies
• 1 no Dry Red Chilli
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds

For Tempering:

• 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1 tsp Urad Dal
• 2 Dry Red Chilies
• A sprig Curry Leaves
• 3 tbsp Coconut grated

Instructions

Ground Masala for the gravy

• Take the grated coconut along with red chili, cumin seeds, and green chilies. Add water as required to grind to a smooth paste. Keep it aside.

Cooking the Vegeble and lentil:

• Wash and soak Brown Chickpea or Kadala for at least 5 to 6 hours or overnight. Drain the water used a couple of times and pressure cook for at least 4 whistles or till it is well cooked and keep aside.
• Peel and dice the pumpkin into thick chunks. Take it in a pan with 1/2 cup of water along with salt and turmeric powder. Cook till the pumpkin is tender. This takes about 10 mins. Once you remove from the flame, slightly mash the cooked pieces with the ladle.
• To the cooked pumpkin add the cooked chickpea and the ground coconut masala.
• Mix well, check and add salt to taste. Cook for 5 to 7 mins on low flame.

For Tempering:

• Heat a pan, add coconut oil, mustard seeds. Once they crackle add whole dry red chilies and curry leaves. Now add the grated coconut, reduce the heat and saute until the coconut has turned brown.
• Once the coconut is well roasted, add the tempering to the pumpkin mixture. Mix well and serve with rice

Notes

Cooking Tips:

Since the mathanga or pumpkin is a water vegetable, always cook on the stovetop. Pressure cooking makes it very mushy.

This gravy has slightly mashed pumpkin, you can use your ladle to mash it once it is cooked.

Using fresh coconut for the best taste.

Cooking in Coconut Oil makes it very flavorsome and keeps the authentic taste and flavor.

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Other Pumpkin Recipes

Some More Kadala / Black Chana Recipes: