Avial / Aviyal

Avial / Aviyal is considered an essential part of any Malayali Sadhya ( feast) and also has a unique place in a typical Kerala Cuisine. It is a thick mixture of a lot vegetables, curd / raw mango and coconut paste. It is seasoned with coconut oil and curry leaves.

Common vegetables that are used to make aviyal are yam, plantain, drumsticks, carrots etc. Some people prefer to substitute curd with raw mango or tamarind pulp. This dish can be made into a gravy and eaten with rice or be made into a semi-solid side dish. The word "aviyal" is also used to denote an assortment or a mixture - this sense being derived from the way the dish is made.

Serves: 4

You will need

2 drumsticks
1 raw mango or 5 slices
1 potato
1 plantain
2 carrots
5 Long beans or French beans
1 cup water (200 ml)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon coconut oil

For Coconut paste:

1 cup grated coconut ( 100 - 125 g )
4 green chillies
2 pinches turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds ( jeera )
6 curry leaves
2 tablespoon water

Method

Make a thick and rough coconut paste with above ingredients ( except jeera and curry leaves ) in a mixer ( do not add more water when making coconut paste ) and finally add curry leaves and jeera and grind again ( 40 seconds ) to a rough paste.

Cut all the vegetable into 4 -5 cm pieces.

In a bowl, mix all the vegetables pieces with 1 cup water and salt. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes or till 3/4 th done.

Add coconut paste and mix well. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes or till done and water completely dries up.

Finally add 2 teaspoon oil and mix well. Serve with rice. Other accompaniments are Sambar, Rasam, Kaalan, Olan, Thoran, Moru Curry, Pickle, Pappadam & Payasam.