Avial

Avial is one of the most famous traditional vegetable curry found in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu cuisine. In Kerala and Tamil nadu, for many festivals, functions and marriages, you will see the Avial definitely being served. Avial is a vegetable curry made with variety of vegetables & coconut paste & yoghurt. To enjoy the true flavor of Avial it is recommended to use coconut oil. The combination of ground coconut and coconut oil brings such a wonderful aroma to the dish that no one can resist relishing it. Due to its vast vegetable content, Avial is very nutritive for consumption. In one dish, all the vegetables benefits are reaped.

The General Vegetables used for Avial :

Potato, Carrot, Beans, Drumstick, Brinjal, Raw Banana, Elephant Yam, Chow Chow, Broad Beans (Avaraikai), White Pumpkin, Snake Gourd.

Here goes my version of Avial now.

Ingredients:

Vegetables:

Potato – 1

Carrot – 1

Beans – 10

Drumstick – 2

Raw Banana -  1

Elephant Yam – ½

Brinjal – 3

Coconut – 1 to 1 ½ Cups

Cumin Seeds – 1 to 1.5 tsp

Green Chillies – 6-8

Yoghurt – ½ Cup

Haldi – 1 tsp

Salt – 2-3 tsp

Coconut oil – 6 tsp

Curry leaves – 15

Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp

Pre-requisite:

 

1.  Cut all the above vegetables to 2 cms size and soak them in water and keep ready to cook (soaking is done to avoid discoloration of the vegetables).

2.  Cook all the vegetables until they are tender(around 80% cooked) (I pressure cooked the vegetables allowing just one whistle). Don’t overcook and mash the vegetables, it will be a spoiler.

3.  Grind to a thick paste adding very little water – Coconut, Cumin seeds and Green Chillies.

4.  Mix yoghurt & haldi & the ground cocounut paste together & keep ready.

Method:

1.  In a Kadai/Non Stick Pan, first add the vegetables first, then add the ground coconut paste & then the yoghurt & finally required salt and mix everything well.  While mixing ensure the vegetables don’t break. A mild tossing of vegetables is enough.

2.  Now switch on the stove, keep the above kadai/non stick pan and cook on low flame until you see mild bubbles coming up (or) slight frothing from the mixture. Mild cooking is done to remove the raw smell from the coconut & yoghurt. Don’t allow the Avial to cook for long time, otherwise the yoghurt will turn sour or may even spoil. Just 2-3 mins of cooking is enough.

3.  Season in coconut oil along with mustard & curry leaves and pour the seasoning to the avail mixture and mix few times, and remove from the flame.

Tantalizing Avial is Ready!!!