Malabar Erissery | Nanjil Erissery | Kerala special stew using Raw Banana / Yam (Senai Kizhangu)
Erissery is one of the popular stew made in Kerala, especially for the Sadya. There are few different variations in making Erissery. This recipe is something that is commonly followed in our house and in Nagercoil, Kanyakumari District (Nanjil Nadu). For Malabar Erissery, we usually use Raw Banana or Senai Kizhangu (Yam). This is good for health and liked by all ages.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 320kcal
Equipment
- Heavy Bottomed Pan
- Mixer Grinder
Ingredients
- 300 grams Chenai (Yam) (or) 3 Raw Banana
- 1 pinch Turmeric Powder
- 1 pinch Asafoetida (Asafetida / Hing)
- 1½ teaspoon Salt (adjust to your taste)
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil
For the Masala Paste
- 1 teaspoon Oil preferably coconut oil
- 1 nos Red Chili
- ½ cup Grated Coconut
- ½ teaspoon Peppercorns
For Tempering
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Oil preferably coconut oil
- 2 tablespoon Grated Coconut
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon Split Urad Dal
Instructions
Preparation
- Clean the vegetable (Senai Kizhangu or Raw Banana), peel the skin and chop into smaller pieces and keep it aside. Immerse the chopped vegetables in the water to prevent decolorization.
Preparation of spice powder
- Pour the oil in the pan. When the oil is hot, add pepper and fry them till you get the flavor of the pepper. Add Red Chili in the same pan and fry it till the color of the chili slightly change. We can fry peper and red chili together, but chili get burnt quickly hence doing it one after another
- Take the fried pepper and red chili to the mixer and grind it to powder
Cooking the vegetable
- Add water (approximate 1 cup of water) in a heavy bottom pan and heat it.
- When the water starts to boil add the vegetable, spice powder (ground pepper + red chili), pinch of turmeric, hing and salt. Adjust the water to ensure that the vegetables are completely immersed. Don’t add too much water otherwise the stew becomes watery.
- Cover the pan and let the vegetable completely cook. Check the water level in frequent intervals and add more water if required to ensure that the vegetables don't get burnt.
Making of the fresh coconut masala paste
- Take the coconut in a mixer along with 2-3 tablespoon of water and grind it to a fine paste. We need thick coconut paste hence ensure that don't add too much of water while grinding
Making of Erissery
- Add the ground paste to the cooked vegetable and allow the mixture to boil
Tempering
- In a seperate pan add a teaspoon of oil (preferably coconut oil). Once the oil is hot, add the grated coconut (2 tbsp) and fry them in a low-medium flame till you get nice aroma of coconut / color of the coconut slightly change (light brown color). Add the fried coconut to Erissery
- In the same pan, add ½ teaspoon of oil and add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to sputter add the urad dal, cumin seeds and finally the curry leaves. Mix them well and add this tempering to the Erissery
- Finally add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in Erissery and mix it well. The hot, tasty and flavorful Erissery is ready to serve.
Notes
- You can avoid the red chili and instead add additional ½ teaspoon of pepper.
- You can also add the Jeera (Cumin Seeds) along with coconut and grind it to a paste.
- The vegetables (Raw Banana / Senai Kizhangu) can be cooked in a pressure cooker as well over 1-2 whistles.
Nutrition
Serving: 350g | Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 168mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 8g