Avial is a traditional stew from God's Own Country _ Kerala. It is prepared with an array of vegetables, slow cooked in ground coconut gravy. It is an integral part of Vishu and Onam Sadya (feast). The Kerala Sadya is incomplete without the yummy Avial!This super nutritious Avial is a delicate and subtle dish, packed with the goodness of fresh seasonal vegetables, grated coconut, coconut oil and curry leaves.Traditionally, the most commonly used vegetables are drumstick, yam, raw nendran banana, small brinjal, string beans, ash gourd, cluster beans, snake gourd and Ivy gourd. You can add all vegetables or skip some, depending upon what you have in your kitchen. People from North Kerala add some bitter gourd to their Avial while people from South Kerala add tomatoes or raw mangoes. While some use curd for some sourness, some use tamarind pulp. In this recipe I have used tamarind pulp as I prefer this for sourness.One important thing to be kept in mind while preparing this dish is that all the vegetables must be cut into equal sizes so that they can be cooked evenly. This also makes the dish look very appealing. The legend of AvialAvial has its origins in the Indian mythology and the Sangam period. Mythology says Avial was first prepared by the mighty Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers from the Mahabharata epic, while in exile. After losing the game of dice, the Pandavas reached the kingdom of King Virata. Bhima disguised as cook Vallabha in the king's kitchen. He was asked to cook for the king. Even though cooking wasn't his forte, he decide to experiment when he found some vegetables. He diced them evenly and cooked them with grated coconut and the dish turned out very well. So, Avial was born! And then there are many such stories in mythology.Types of AvialBesides the vegetableavial, there are many versions of Avial. There is the Kovakkai Avial (Ivy gourd), in which only Ivy gourd is used. In Cheera Avial, where chopped asparagus leaves are cooked with other vegetables. There is the Chakka Avial, in which raw jackfruit was chopped lengthwise and cooked with ground coconut gravy. Like the Malayalis, the Tamilians have their version of this delicious dish. Likewise, Bengalis have their Sukto and Gujaratis have their Undhiyo, wherein they too use a medley of locally produced vegetables. The ingredients are different and the tastes also differ.Sattvik foodAvial is considered to be a sattvik food as this recipe is prepared with fresh, locally produced vegetables, grated coconut, coconut oil and curry leaves. There is no temperingor seasoning done in this recipe. Coconut oil is poured over the cooked vegetables thereby making it healthy and nutritious. The Traditional Avial used be prepared in earthen pots (munchetty). Today we use normal cooking pans to cook on stove tops. Even though the original recipedoesn't use shallots or garlic, one or two shallots can be used as it enhances the taste of the dish.
Wash and dry vegetables. Cut lengthwise evenly so that they cook uniformly and don’t turn mushy. It is important to maintain the texture of the vegetables.
Grate half-a-coconut and grind it with cumin seeds, green chillies, shallots by adding little water (1 tablespoon). Keep aside.Soak Tamarind: Take lemon-sized tamarind, soak in water and squeeze out its pulp. Keep aside.
In an earthen pot or deep pan, add 1 tsp of coconut oil and sauté yam pieces for some time. Pour a tsp of water. Cook for 2 minutes as yam takes time to cook.In the same pan, add all the vegetables, except drumstick pieces (as they cook very fast, we don’t want them to get mushy).
Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt and mix well. Very little water needs to be added, just enough to mix them well as this is a semi-dry dish.
Slow cook the vegetables as we want to retain their nutrition. Cook till they are half done. Now, add the drumstick pieces and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes. Add tamarind pulp and boil for 2 more minutes.
When the vegetables are almost done yet crunchy, add the ground coconut paste and mix well. Let it simmer for 1 minute, that is, till steam comes out of the cooked vegetables.
Switch off the flame, add curry leaves and pour raw coconut oil over the vegetable curry and mix gently. Close the lid of the vessel and let the steam blend all the aromas in.
Notes
Notes & TipsThis dish has many versions. In some regions of Kerala, curd is added instead of tamarind. And in some others, raw mango is added instead of tamarind or curd.Please note that curd or raw mango must be added only in the end or the gravy will turn mushy.If you are using tamarind instead of curd or raw mango, use it as per the recipe. The tamarind pulp gives the dish a tangy taste. It keeps the vegetables crisp and crunchy. So, when you reheat the dish, the vegetables retain their crispness and don’t turn soggy.Tamarind is also a natural preservative and gives the dish a longer shelf life in the refrigerator.