This dish is one of my childhood favorites. Mine is a hardcore non-veg family; when we were growing up we used to have fish almost every day and some kind of meat in the weekends.  But on those rare days when there was no non-veg at all, there were 2 or 3 dishes that would get me by. Pumpkin Erissery with rice and papadam is one combination I could forget my carnivore self for. I still make it once in a while when I feel like having a light vegetarian meal for a change. 

 

Ingredients

Method

Keep 2 tbsp grated coconut aside. Grind the remaining coconut along with turmeric powder, green chilies and garlic to a coarse paste.

Cook the squash pieces in a sauce pan with just enough water to cover the pieces.

When the squash pieces are cooked, mash the pieces, add the ground paste and salt and cook on low heat for about 3 minutes.

Seasoning: In a different pan, heat oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the chopped shallots, dry red chilies, curry leaves and fry. Then add the grated coconut kept aside initially and fry till the coconut turns light brown. Add this seasoning to the prepared curry and stir well.

Serve hot with white rice and papadams.

Note:
I made this with the  frozen diced butternut squash from the organic market.  When I use a whole fresh butternut squash I normally bake it in the oven, or even pop it in the microwave till the skin gets soft and the inside flesh can be scooped out with a spoon. If you do that, just substitute the diced squash with the flesh in the same quantity.

After I posted this, I did a search and found two other great Erissery recipes out there. Check out Bee’s version and Asha’s version of this classic Kerala recipe.

Technorati tags: , , ,

Get It While It's Hot!

You can get Live to Eat updates instantaneously by e-mail or in Facebook or through your favorite RSS Reader.

Get new recipes via email:

 Subscribe to RSS Feed
Follow on Facebook

Comments

15 Responses to “Erissery - Butternut Squash Curry”

  1. keralafish says:
    March 7, 2007 at 7:04 am

    eriseri has been one of my favourites.Ive heard it being made using either raw plantain or yams.Can u make it with squash also?
    Could you upload recipes for kalan,puliseri,upperi,thoran and puzhukku.

    Reply
  2. Sig says:
    March 7, 2007 at 7:30 am

    Hi Keralafish, (nice name btw :)). Yeah, Erisseri can be made with a lot of other veggies too, check out the two links I posted for a cauliflower version and a pumpkin one.
    All the dishes you described makes me really hungry, if I ever get around to cooking any of those, will surely post the recipes.

    Reply
  3. Asha says:
    March 7, 2007 at 2:00 pm

    Hi Sig,I was going to say I made this too,you already got me there!!Thanks.

    Although I am not a Keralite and my Erissery was not made with Yam etc,I loved this recipe with Cauliflower too.Your’s with Butternut squash is a great idea too and looks yummy.

    Reply
  4. Susan says:
    March 7, 2007 at 11:12 pm

    Hi Sig. I found you through Asha’s site. You have delicious recipes here! This curry must be so fragrant and flavorful. I cook with these seasonings, but I didn’t know the proper names. Thanks!

    Reply
  5. Sig says:
    March 8, 2007 at 5:05 am

    Asha, yeah I found your version with cauliflower, I’m sure thats the first time anyone ever made a cauliflower erissery :-) looks really good though.

    Susan, thanks for visiting, I really enjoyed your blog.

    Reply
  6. HAREKRISHNAJI says:
    March 8, 2007 at 12:13 pm

    First time in my life I came to know that such dish exist

    Reply
  7. Prema Sundar says:
    March 8, 2007 at 1:51 pm

    Haven’t made erissery myself but have read abt it in many blogs and I have that they are usually made out of pumpkin.. Using butternut squash is different and I bet the taste would be great, as I love butternut squash.

    Reply
  8. Sig says:
    March 8, 2007 at 3:30 pm

    Hi Harekrishnaji, welcome to my blog. You should defintely give this dish a try then, it is delicious.

    Prema, yes, in India it is made with pumpkin normally, but here in the US, I think the different varieties of squashes come closer in taste to the Indian pumpkin than the pumpkin over here. Also, squashes and pumpkins are the same family anyway, so I don’t know if the Indian pumpkin is actually a squash or a pumpkin! I need to do some research :).
    I love butternut squash, so I use that in a lot of dishes, and always have a stock in the freezer.

    Reply
  9. Jyothsna says:
    March 9, 2007 at 2:46 pm

    Yum Errissery! Nice:)

    Reply
  10. KitchenFairy says:
    March 9, 2007 at 5:50 pm

    Hai,U have a nice blog here.Erissery,pappadam and rice ,yes really nice combination.I used to have pumpkin erissery with tea…don’t laugh its true..Ur crab curry is tempting me to give up my lent..

    Reply
  11. Mishmash ! says:
    March 9, 2007 at 7:34 pm

    Hi Sig, Thanks for visiting my page and thus leading me to a beautiful blog packed with restuarant reviews and recipes:) hmm..erissery is a kerala favourite , I prepare almost the similar way but do add vanpayar or red grams dal or red bean, this is one dish which has lots of variations rt ..

    Shn

    Reply
  12. Sig says:
    March 10, 2007 at 7:54 pm

    Jyothsna, thanks for dropping by;

    Fairy, I won’t laught at the tea-erissery combo, because I too have some weird food habits :), so I totally understand

    Shn, you are right, I think most people make it with some kind of pulse, but I like the simplicity of just having the vegetable in it.

    Reply
  13. Anonymous says:
    March 11, 2007 at 2:45 pm

    Try adding black eyed peas to the butternut squash erissery.It’ll taste even better.

    Reply
  14. Venkatesh Iyer says:
    January 10, 2008 at 9:34 pm

    The picture looks very good. We usually make Erissery without garlic for meals on Sundays. It is very tasty.

    Reply
  15. wickedsunny says:
    February 20, 2008 at 3:51 pm

    Do we find butternut squash in India ?

    Or I will have to use a normal pumpkin ?

    I don’t think we have butternut squash in India… Normal Pumpkin is what we use traditionally, butternut squash is a substitution I made, since we can’t find the Indian pumpkin here in the US…

    Reply
Newer Comments »

Leave a Reply

 LinkWithin Related Stories Widget for Blogs