Avialઅવિયલ
A Kerala dish of mixed vegetables cooked with coconut, yoghurt and coconut oil. Simple to make and unlike anything else on the table.
Ingredients
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- 3 cups mixed vegetables cut into batons (raw banana, bottle gourd, carrot, drumstick, beans)
- 1 cup grated coconut
- 2 green chillies, ½ tsp cumin
- ½ cup yoghurt
- Turmeric, salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, curry leaves
Method
- Cook the vegetables with turmeric, salt and a little water until just tender; the pieces should stay whole.
- Coarsely grind the coconut with the chillies and cumin.
- Stir this into the vegetables and cook gently for 5 minutes.
- Lower the heat, add the yoghurt and warm it through only; boiling will split it.
- Pour raw coconut oil over the top, add curry leaves and cover.
- Rest 5 minutes and serve with rice.
Tips
- The raw coconut oil at the end is the signature smell of avial.
- Never boil it after the yoghurt goes in.
Storing and reheating
With both yoghurt and fresh coconut in it, avial does not sit well. In warm weather it starts turning sour within three or four hours. It keeps two days in the fridge. Reheat it gently and only until warm through; boiling splits the yoghurt and brings the oil to the surface. In a microwave, thirty to forty seconds is enough.
What you can swap
- No fresh coconut? Frozen grated coconut works as it is. With desiccated coconut, soak three tablespoons in warm water for ten minutes before grinding, or the paste comes out gritty.
- If you would rather skip the yoghurt, cook two slices of raw mango along with the vegetables instead. Many Kerala kitchens do exactly this in summer.
- Drumstick is hard to find outside India. Just leave it out rather than replacing it; pumpkin, snake gourd or beans fill the gap well.
- Without coconut oil you still get a dish, but not the smell that makes it avial. A small bottle lasts a long time since the recipe needs only two tablespoons.
What to serve with it
With rice and sambar or rasam, plus pickle and pappadam. At an Onam or Vishu sadya it is one of the central dishes on the banana leaf. It is also the easiest way to use up five or six odd vegetables at once.
Mistakes to avoid
- Cut the vegetables into even batons. Chopped small, everything collapses into a mush, and avial should show its pieces.
- Do not put all the vegetables in together. Carrot and drumstick first, bottle gourd and raw banana later, or the gourd dissolves while the carrot is still raw.
- Keep the water to a minimum. Avial is not a gravy; the coconut should cling to the vegetables. If it does get loose, uncover and raise the heat to drive the water off.
- Do not grind the coconut to a smooth paste. The slightly coarse texture is what gives avial its character.
Questions people ask
My yoghurt split in the avial. Can I fix it?
Split yoghurt will not come back together, but the taste is not ruined. Stir in a spoon of grated coconut or half a teaspoon of gram flour over low heat for two minutes and the sauce comes back. Next time, take the pan off the heat before the yoghurt goes in.
Can avial be made without yoghurt?
Yes. Raw mango, a little tamarind water or two pieces of kokum will give the sourness instead. Both versions are traditional, with the yoghurt one more common at festival meals and the mango one for everyday cooking.
Which vegetables should not go into avial?
Leave out tomato, brinjal, okra and cabbage. Tomato's acidity fights the yoghurt, and the others break down and turn slimy. Raw banana, bottle gourd, carrot, drumstick, pumpkin and beans are the reliable choices.
