Kerala Mathanga Pumpkin Erissery
A wholesome Indian recipe crafted for health-conscious eating: nutritious, delicious, and easy to make at home.
Pumpkin and vanpayar cooked with coconut paste and coconut temper — classic Onam mathanga erissery.
Erissery is a Kerala Onam sadya dish of pumpkin and red cowpeas in a coconut paste. The final tempering of fried coconut gives it a nutty, roasted flavour. The dish sits on the Onam sadya leaf next to the thoran, and most Kerala homes cook it in a clay or heavy-bottomed pot so the pumpkin does not catch.
Ingredients
How to Make It
Cook beans pumpkin.
Add coconut paste.
Temper coconut; serve.
Nutrition per serving
* Approximate values per serving
Health Benefits
Fibre-protein Onam side. Measured coconut temper; not oily fry.
Pumpkin and beans make a filling side that needs only a coconut paste for body.
Pro Tips
- →Soak beans.
- →Don’t over-mash.
- →Fresh temper.
- →Cook the cowpeas separately until soft before adding pumpkin.
- →Mash some pumpkin into the gravy to thicken it.
- →Fry the coconut for the tempering until it turns golden brown.
A calorie note
Most of the calories in this dish come from a few ingredients. For reference, per 100 g: Fresh coconut: about 354 kcal. Measure these with a spoon or scale, because small changes here move the total more than anything else. Values are rounded from USDA FoodData Central and the Indian Food Composition Tables (IFCT 2017), as of 13 Oct 2026, and vary by variety and by table. General information, not medical advice.
Variations
- 1Yam mix.
- 2Less coconut.
- 3Use raw banana or yam in place of pumpkin.
Frequently Asked Questions
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