Any vegetarian feast (called sadhya in Malayalam) in Kerala is incomplete without Avial on the menu. It is a pure vegetarian dish. You can prepare this dish by using vegetables that cook slowly (for example; plantains, yam, green bananas, green papaya, potatoes, drumsticks, french beans, snake gourds, long runner beans, long brinjals, tindli, squash, pumpkin, raw mango)
The vegetables are first par boiled & then further cooked in coconut gravy. The consistency of the dish needs to be thicker unlike the sambar. The vegetables that cook fast like cabbage, okra, cauliflower, tomatoes needs to be avoided in making this dish.
Prince Bhima, one of the 5 pandavas in Mahabharat invented this dish. The prince did not know how to cook at all. When he was asked to cook, without knowing what to do, he ended up chopping up all the vegetables & mixed it with some grated coconut and the dish was ready!
There are not many spices used to make this exotic dish but just the coconut & curry leaves added makes this dish sumptuous & delicious. Here is my recipe for making the Kerala avial 🙂
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash & clean all vegetables you plan on using.
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Cut all the vegetables into equal sized pieces about 2 inches. Put the vegetables into a pan or a wok and add only about 1/2 cup of water,salt & turmeric. Cover & simmer on low to medium heat for about 7 minutes. If you wish you can add the vegetables that don't need much cooking like carrots, drumsticks after a few minutes of adding the other vegetables. The idea is that the vegetables are to be rightly cooked & not turn mushy. It should hold the shape.
- Meanwhile, when the veggies are cooking, grind the grated coconut, green chillies, 3 to 4 curry leaves (not sprigs), cumin & mustard seeds into a paste adding very little water. Mix it well with the yogurt.
- Once the veggies are semi cooked for about 6 to 7 minutes, add the coconut yogurt paste into it, mix well and let it simmer for about 5 minutes or so.
- Heat coconut oil in a small frying pan and add fresh curry leaves to it. Add this tempering into the avail & close the lid so that the aroma of the tempering stays. Immediately turn off the heat & your avial is ready. Serve with rice and pappadoms. It is traditionally served during sadhyas and festivals on plantain leaves.
Notes
It is the coconut oil which gives it the authentic flavour for this Kerala recipe, so don't cheat on this by using any other oil.
Tamarind paste or raw mangoes can be substituted for yogurt to give the sour taste.
Soaked cashews can be added with grated coconut for added flavour.
It is important that the vegetables hold its texture in avial recipe and are not mashed.