Avial is very popular in the whole of South India. It is a nutritious blend of all vegetables cooked in coconut gravy. It can be eaten with Rice / Chappati.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Vegetables ( I used plantain, elephant yam(chena), carrot, beans and chembu/colocasia. )
- 3 Green Chillies
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 cup Grated coconut
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds - 1/2 - 3/4 tsp
- 1 spring Curry leaves
- 1/2 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp Coconut oil
- Cook the Vegetables in the microwave for around 8 min or till the veggies are just cooked but firm. Alternately you may cook the Veggies in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle.
- Grind the coconut, turmeric, green chillies and cumin seeds in a mixer and keep aside.
- Heat oil in a big pan and add the mustard seeds. When the mustard starts crackling add the curry leaves, then the cooked vegetables, the ground coconut paste and salt. Mix everything well and simmer for a few min till the veggies soak in the flavour.
- Serve hot with Rice.
For authenticity - usually avial in Kerala style is never garnished and curry leaves are torn and tossed fresh along with coconut oil...
ReplyDeleteAlso some more tips for great fresh taste of Avial that I follow, is just steam cook the vegetables w/o water...because many vegetables like ash gourd and pumpkin will eject water while cooking, which itself is sufficient for other veggies to cook. This is healthier too..Also Avial taste is dependent on the way veggies are cut - long, slender and same size...