Olan

Ingredients:
Raw pumpkin - 250 gms, cut into small slices

Green chillies - 3/4, slit

Coconut oil - 1/2 tablespoon

Water - a small cup
Salt to taste

Method:

Boil the pumpkin and green chilly pieces along with salt in water. When the pieces are done, pour oil and garnish with curry leaves.

Postscript:
You can also make olan with ash gourd pieces. The method is the same except that just before you pour oil, you should add coconut milk and let it cook for two minutes.

Molagooshyam

Ingredients:

Ashgourd

Pumpkin

Tomatoes -  2

Onions - 1

Green chillies - 2/3

Toor dal/parippu/split pigeon peas - a cup

Turmeric - half a teaspoon

Chilli powder - 2 teaspoons

Curry leaves

Method:

Cut all the vegetables into small pieces. Boil the dal with turmeric and salt (you can also add it as is but we usually boil and keep some in the fridge just so that making dishes like this are easy).

Boil the ash gourd and pumpkin pieces with turmeric and red chilli powder.

Add the tomatoes after 2 minutes, followed by the onions and the greeen chillies.

Add the toor dal after 2 minutes. Let it all mix well.
After taking off the fire, pour a tablespoon of coconut and garnish with curry leaves.

Postscript: Molagooshyam can be made with either ashgourd or pumpkin. It can also be made without either of them; i.e, with just the onions, tomatoes and chillies.

We also leave out the toor dal when we make prawn molagooshyam or dry fish molagooshyam.