Kaplanga Erissery/Papaya with coconut and green chillies

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    The most common vegetable to make erissery is pumpkin and I am not sure if papaya erissery is common or well known. But I (read it, my family) prefer it over the pumpkin, and I mostly end up making erissery with papaya.

    My father is an exceptionally good cook considering in his days it was not common for a man to even help in the kitchen. Territories were definitely marked during his times and the kitchen was not a man's forte. My Father was truly an exception being liberal in his thoughts. He loved to cook and helped my mom in the kitchen every opportunity he had. When I think about it, it was only fair since my mother was employed too.



    Today’s recipe is my Dad's. When it comes to festive dishes or sometimes even the day to day dishes, my father is a better cook in our family. However, my mom would have a hard time cleaning the mess after him, but the food always paid off for the trouble she would say. If you could get my father to say “your dish is fine,” that means “it is fantastic.” Surely, a man of few words it is difficult to get more than that from my Father. I remember eagerly waiting when I started cooking, as a teenager, for a compliment from my Dad. If he even said “its fine” it was enough to make my day. Like I said, he is a man of few words and I knew he was a good cook so any positive comment even a nod was likes receiving an award of accomplishment.

    So, here is a recipe from a great food critic and cook, my father :-)


Ingredients:

Papaya(started to ripen) cut into 1 inch cubes- 2 Cups
Turmeric powder- 1/4Tsp
Salt- To taste

For Grinding:

Coconut(grated)-1/4 cup
Cumin seeds-1/2 Tsp
Shallots-1 big
Green chillies-4-5

For seasoning:

Coconut oil/cooking oil-1 Tbsp
Mustard seeds-1/2 Tsp
Coconut(grated)-2Tbsp
Red chillies-2-3
Curry leaves-1Sprig



Method:

1.Pressure cook the papaya cubes along with turmeric and salt (for 2 whistles- or till it gets cooked really well)
2.Grind the things listed under the label (don't have to grind it smooth)
3.Mash the papaya well and add the coconut mixture into it.
4.Cover and cook for a few minutes on medium heat.
5.Switch off the heat.
6.Heat oil in a pan to do the seasoning.
7.Splutter the mustard seeds and a throw in the red chillies.
8.To this add the grated coconut and fry it till the coconut start turning golden brown color.
9Trow in the curry leaves and saute till you get the golden color for coconut flakes .
10.Mix it into the erissery and serve with rice,yogurt and thoran of your choice.



Notes;
1.it's best when you use the half ripened papaya.But still you could make it with raw ones too.(Have done it many times like that )
2.Just like any other erissery you can add a lentil, preferably soaked red beans along with papaya while cooking.
3.As I have told any erissery, thought it will be nice to share some more erissery ideas to those who are new to this dish. Instead of papaya, add pumpkin, raw banana, elephant foot yam etc for this dish.
4.This erissery is less problematic for the people who have gastritis problems.

Contributor: Namitha