Avial

Avial is a coconut and yogurt based gravy that originated from the state of Kerala. It’s quite easy to prepare and tastes a bit like the Thai based coconut-milk curries. It goes very well with cooked rice.

Ingredients

1. An assortment of vegetables - carrots, beans, potatoes, peas, drumsticks, bell peppers, cauliflower etc. It is entirely flexible and depends on the kinds of vegetables you like and have in store. We used carrots, beans, potatoes and peas. The sliced vegetables amounted to about 4 cups.
2. 1.5 tablespoons of crushed cumin seeds
3. 1 cup of grated/shredded coconut
4. 4-5 green chillies (as per your spice tolerance)
5. a small piece of ginger (optional)
6. 2 cups yogurt
7. Salt to taste (1-2 teaspoons)
8. A tablespoon of vegetable/olive oil
9. 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
10. ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder
11. A few curry leaves
12. A pinch of hing

Preparation

1. Slice the vegetables into long strips. The more uniform the strips, the more evenly the veggies cook, and the more prettier they look.
2. Cook the vegetables in salted water until they are tender (you can alternatively steam them in a cooker). Drain the water from the cooked vegetables.
3. Grind together the coconut, crushed cumin seeds, ginger, and green chillies by sprinkling some water ( ¼ - ½ cup). The ground mixture shouldn’t be too watery, but the ingredients should be finely ground.
4. Mix this coconut gravy with the cooked vegetables along with some turmeric powder. Add a little bit of water to dilute the gravy (1/2 - 1 cup of water) and let it come to a boil on medium heat. Add a teaspoon or two of salt, as per your taste.
5. When the avial comes to a boil and the raw smell/taste of coconut subsides, reduce the heat and add the yogurt. Stir well and let the avial simmer on low heat for 5-7 minutes. If your avial is too thick in consistency, dilute with a bit of water. The consistency of the avial should be like that of a rich gravy. Do not over heat yogurt. Remove avial from heat after the 7 minute mark.
6. To garnish - heat a spoon of oil in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds, a pinch of hing, and curry leaves. Add the garnish to the avial and mix well. Serve.

Anand is a self-proclaimed avial expert! So, he prepared 97% of this dish with the help of his dad’s instructions. 3% of my work involved fixing the dish with a few ingredients he had missed out ;).