Avial is a beautiful blend of colorful nutritious veggies cooked to perfection in a coconut and yogurt based gravy and the true beauty of this dish lies in the uniformly cut vegetables.Ingredients
Raw Plantain (cut in strips): 1/4 cupYam (cut in strips): 1/4 cup
Long Beans (cut in strips): 1/4 cup
Carrots (cut in strips): 1/4 cup
Drumsticks (cut long): 1/4 cup
Tindora/Kovaikkai (cut in strips): 1/4 cup
Vellarikka/Dosakai (cut in strips): 1/4 cup
White Melon/Kumbalanga (cut in strips): 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Water: 1/4 cup
Grated Coconut: 3/4 cupYogurt: 1 cup
Green Chilli: 3-4
Cumin seeds/Jeera: 2 teaspoons
Garlic (optional):1 pod
Curry Leaves:handful
Coconut Oil:
Salt to taste
Take all the cut vegetables and boil it in water with some salt and turmeric. Do not let it get overcooked. Some people like it very tender while some like it with a crunch. Turn off the heat and let it cool. Coarsely grind the grated coconut, green chillies, cumin seeds, garlic. Add the yogurt to this mixture to make a paste. Pour it into the boiled vegetables slowly. If you pour it while the vegetables are hot, the curd might split. Mix everything well. Turn on the stove again on very low heat. Add a dash of coconut oil and a handful of curry leaves and it is as perfect as it can be.
If only I could lay my hands on these vegetables!!!
ReplyDeleteI have not seen most of these vegetables like raw plaintain, yam etc. here in Blacksburg, VA.
Any advice??
We usually use frozen yam which we get from Indian stores... and for raw plaintain you can check Asian food stores or Indian stores... Sometimes the major US food chains also carry it...
ReplyDeleteCurious to know the regional variations; it is interesting to see that you use garlic in Avial... is it the traditional way it is made in this part of Kerala?
ReplyDelete@? Use of garlic in Avial is mainly a personal choice... in traditional style garlic is not a part of Avial...
ReplyDeleteGreat to see Aviyal in your column..
ReplyDeleteCouple of changes in my Avial
1)I add kunjulli( shallots 1 or 2) to the cocunut while grinding. no garlic.
2)Use raw mango (sour) instead of yogurt
In some parts of Kerala, potatoes are also used. Enthayallum aviyal alleee.. anything will do...
Hi Iam new to this Blog.
ReplyDeleteI love this avial which my mom used to make.
whenever i tried this same color/look will not apper. this is same like my mom's. I'll try the way u did