Onam Guest post - Mathanum Payarum

I was wondering why I didn't think of this last year maybe i was shy to ask people to make guest posts for me.But no its a great way to interact and also make new friends.Even though we are geographically neighbours we don't celebrate Onam. After seeing all the pictures of yummy Onam sadya dishes I thought i must have a post for Onam.So I thought of asking a keralite friend.So Rafeeda it was.She's a sweet girl maybe we've passed each other by on some street in the UAE years ago now she's a working mother of two pretty girls, a home maker and a blogger, who knew then we'd be friends through blogging.Rafeeda blogs at The Big Sweet Tooth like many of you are familiar with.

So today Rafeeda obliged at such short notice by sending me this lovely dish of Pumpkin and cow beans/Mathanum and payyarum - an Onam delicacy.

Wishing all my friends A Joyous Onam :) 

Lets see what Rafeeda has to say now :

Hello everybody…

Working on a guest post, is always a hassle for me. I don’t know why, it kinds of hits my confidence to a certain level.  When you work on your own blog, you don’t have anybody to please but when it’s a guest post, you have to ensure that the host is happy, isn’t it? My host for the day, Princy asked me for a guest post, and I literally gasped, “me?” Seriously, I am so bad at preparing vegetarian fare especially that needs to be served with rice. It’s very rarely that my curries turn out well and I have blogged about it. Otherwise, I take quite time to reach the exact taste that my umma tries to bring. Since Princy asked, I quickly pulled out my drafts and lunged through it to see if there was any sadhya vegetarian fare that I could give. I emailed her whether this would be fine, and she replied back saying she would take anything from me! So sweet of her… J

A little introduction – my name is Rafeeda, who blogs at “The Big Sweet Tooth”. A working mother, with two daughters, I take cooking as a stress buster to relieve me from the pressures of a working life. Princy’s is one of the blogs that I regularly visit for some mouthwatering fare and constantly keep commenting as well. During our interactions, I have learned that she was an ex-UAEite and my posts keep poking on her nostalgic memories. While blogging, I have come across so many fellow bloggers who have been in UAE during their school days, who are able to connect to what I write. That is what keeps me blogging, as I love the personal connections.

Moving to the recipe… one of the afternoon dishes that umma makes and I become really flat crazy about is her “Mathanum Payarum” – Pumpkin with Cowpea Beans. Something that I just recently learned from her… There’s nothing much complicated about the dish but still I love to keep pestering umma for her recipes. While trying to make this, umma let out a very sarcastic comment, that  I cannot make a proper curry for afternoon despite having two kids. I still don’t think I am old to learn, am I?? Hehe… when she wanted to teach me, I was not interested but now that I am, she is not willing. Hmm…  I guess without much talking, I will go direct to this simple recipe which tastes just out of the world, for me… J

Mathanum Payarum – Pumpkin with Cowpea Beans

Serves 4

Recipe courtesy: My umma

Ingredients:

1 cup red cowpea beans, soaked in water overnight

500 gm pumpkin, peeled and chopped into large pieces

½ tsp turmeric powder

¾ tsp chilli powder (increase for spiciness)

Salt to taste

For grinding:

¼ cup grated coconut

2 shallots, peeled

2 cloves garlic

½ tsp fennel seeds

¼ tsp cumin seeds

2 green chillis

For tempering:

1 tsp coconut oil

¼ tsp mustard seeds

Method:

• Wash the cowpea beans well and place into a pressure cooker.
•  Add the chopped pumpkin, pour water just till leveled, not too much. Add in the turmeric and red chilli powder along with salt. Pressure cook for three whistles and then leave it on simmer for around 30 minutes. Switch off and allow the pressure to go by itself.
• Meanwhile, grind all the “for grinding” ingredients till smooth. Open the cooker lid, add in the ground ingredients and mix well. You will see that the pumpkin is all mashed up and coated over the cow pea beans. Cook on low flame till just warm.
• Heat up the oil in a little saucepan and splutter the mustard seeds. Dump it into mathanum payarum and mix well. 
• Serve as side for rice and any curry! I love to eat it as is… J

Thank you so much Princy for this opportunity. I sincerely hope that you love this post. Wishing all the readers of Spicy Foood a very Happy Onam… J

 Thank you Rafeeda for the lovely touch of Onam  Kerala here :)