Greetings...
A very popular dish in Kerala and Tamil Nadu,
we are going to prepare Avial (Aviyal) today.
No Sadhya is complete without Avial.
Firstly, lets prepare the ground mixture for Avial.
In a grinding jar, add ½ teaspoon of Cumin Seeds,
Add 1 cup of grated Coconut,
some Shallots,
If they are big, add 5 OR if they are very small, add 10.
Add 2 sprigs of Curry Leaves.
Lastly, add a sliced Green Chilli.
Now, let's grind it.
DON'T grind it into a fine paste;
Lightly crush it as we do for Chammanthis.
I've ground it here.
It should be crushed like this.
Into the pan, we shall add the needed vegetables.
First, use a root vegetable.
Here, I am using Elephant Foot Yam.
You may use Colocasia OR Potato.
It takes a while to cook Yam, so cut it into thin pieces.
Now, we need Raw Plantain.
Take care to cut the Vegetables for Aviyal lengthwise.
Peeled and seeded Yellow Cucumber.
Ivy Gourd, cut lengthwise.
Snake Gourd slightly peeled, seeded and cut lengthwise.
You may use Egg Plant instead of Snake Gourd.
Ash Gourd, peeled, seeded and cut.
Try to use either Yellow Cucumber or Ash Gourd.
Carrot, cut lengthwise.
Long Beans OR Beans OR Gour beans (cluster beans). Any one.
Here, I've taken Long Beans.
Pumpkin, peeled and seeded.
Now the main ingredient, Drumstick.
Slightly peeled like this and cut lengthwise.
Add 4 Green Chillies, cut lengthwise.
You may add more Chillies, if you like the heat.
Add 4 sprigs of Curry leaves.
You may add a bit more for Avial.
These are vegetables needed for preparing Aviyal.
Here, I've taken 800 gm of Vegetables.
This is the weight after cleaning the vegetables.
This will be adequate to serve 10 people.
Add 1 teaspoon of Turmeric Powder.
Add 3 teaspoon of Salt.
That will be 1 tablespoon of Salt.
Add 2 tablespoon of Coconut Oil.
For Avial, try to use Coconut Oil itself.
Now, mix and combine well.
Mix well so that all the pieces are coated
well in Salt, Turmeric Powder and Coconut Oil.
Now, add 1 cup of Water.
DON'T stir after adding Water.
Close the lid and cook on a high flame till it boils,
Turn down the flame to medium level once it starts to boil.
It will cook well within 15 minutes.
If there is more water, open the lid and
cook for some time till the water is reduced.
The Water has reduced now.
It need not reduce completely.
It should have some water like this.
Into this, add the ground Coconut mixture.
Mix and combine well.
Take care not to break the vegetables while stirring.
To cook this ground Coconut mixture,
close the lid and cook for 1-2 minutes on a medium flame.
Now, add ½ cup of Curd.
Mix and combine well.
Drizzle 2 tablespoon of Coconut Oil.
Turn off the stove and mix gently.
Raw Coconut Oil and Curry leaves gives amazing flavour to the Avial.
If you need slightly dry Avial,
instead of Curd, use raw Tomatoes or raw Mangoes along with the vegetables.
Depending on the region,
there will be slight variations in the recipe.
Do try this Avial recipe at home.
Do comment your feedback and suggestions.
Ingredient list is given in the description.
