Recipe Updated on August 23rd, 2018
A Healthy n Hearty Kerala Style Mixed Vegetable Curry… Cooked in a Coconut Cumin Green Chili mix! Avial… the inevitable element of a Sadya…!!
Avial is one of the most popular traditional vegetarian dishes of my hometown Kerala, and as well in Udupi cuisine. It is favored for its simplicity, use of locally available vegetables, and ease of preparation. Avial is also one of the main dishes served during a Sadya; the biggest vegetarian feast of Kerala. It being a South Indian delicacy, is also served for celebrations, special occasions, and as a regional specialty in many international restaurants.
The origin of this dish has various mythological stories behind it. One among them goes back to the Virata Parva of Mahabharat, when Prince Bhima was living in disguise as a cook named Ballava. Bhima did not like to waste vegetables and to ensure all leftovers were used, he created a recipe by boiling all the vegetables into a single dish with spices and lots of coconut. The word Avial inherently means boiling everything in water. Whoever tasted his dish loved it so much and that’s how this recipe named Avial thereafter became popular.
Avial can be prepared in different ways with the variations ranging from the type of vegetables used, the sour agent, and the pot in which it is cooked. The lengthwise cut of the vegetables is signature to the recipe. You might have noticed in my ingredients photo that the yam is square shaped. That’s due to the unavailability of fresh yam where I live and I’m forced to use frozen yam which comes in packets as small cubes. Traditional cooking in earthern pot / manchatti is preferred for all Kerala recipes including avial, as it enhances the flavor of the dish. The sour agent used varies in different regions of Kerala; tamarind, tomato, yogurt or green mango are the common ones. You may use just one or multiple types of sour agents together in your recipe, although I prefer a combination of tomato and a little tamarind.
The choice of vegetables in an Avial recipe are endless, so I highly recommend you read the Notes section below. While cooking, ensure not to overcook the vegetables. Some of them like yellow cucumber contain a lot of water and cook pretty fast ending up losing it crunchiness, so I would recommend cooking the dish on a low flame to get it right. And don’t forget to finally top the avial with coconut oil and curry leaves, it elevates the taste all together…!
Enjoy, Happy Cooking…!
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A Healthy n Hearty Kerala Style Mixed Vegetable Curry… Cooked in a Coconut Cumin Green Chili mix! Avial… the inevitable element of a Sadya…!!
- ½ cup elephant-foot yam / chena
- 1 cup snake gourd / padavalanga
- 1 small raw banana / pacha kaya
- 1 small yellow cucumber / vellarikka
- 1 carrot (sliced lengthwise)
- 4-5 drumsticks (slit)
- 1 small tomato (sliced)
- ½ cup grated coconut
- 2 shallots
- 3 green chilies
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon of chili powder
- 1 small piece of gooseberry sized tamarind
- 3 sprigs of curry leaves
- ½ cup water
- 1-2 tbsp coconut oil
- salt (as required)
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Peel / scrape the skin off of the yam, cucumber, carrot, drumsticks and raw banana. Pit the cucumber and the snake gourd.
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Clean and rinse all the above vegetables properly in water, and then slice them lengthwise. Keep aside.
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Make a paste of coconut, cumin seeds, shallots, and green chilies. Keep aside.
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Soak tamarind in a bowl with 4 tbsp of water and keep aside.
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In a pan / manchatti, cook the vegetables along with one strand of curry leaves, turmeric powder, chili powder and salt. Cover the lid and cook on a medium flame until the vegetables are half cooked.
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Squeeze the soaked tamarind to extract its juice, add it to the pan. Cook for another minute.
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Now add the grinded coconut paste and mix all the contents of the pan well. Allow the curry to boil for another 2-3 minutes on a low flame. At this stage, check for the seasoning. Ensure not to overcook the vegetables.
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Top with coconut oil and curry leaves, give it a final stir. Turn off the flame, cover the lid and allow it to rest for another 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with hot steamed rice.
- Vegetable options: Yellow Cucumber, Snake Gourd, Ash Gourd, Bottle Gourd, Elephant Foot Yam, Carrot, Potato, Drumsticks, Beans, Okra, Bitter Gourd, Raw Banana, Pumpkin, Egg Plant.
- Sour agent options: Tamarind / Green Mango / Yogurt / Tomato
- Ensure not to overcook the vegetables, they should maintain the shape and the curry should neither be too watery nor dry.
- Using of Coconut oil is recommended for all authentic Kerala recipes.
Coconut oil is listed in ingredients for Avial, but not mentioned in the cooking process. When to add coconut oil?
Oops, Looks like, I missed the last step! 🙂