Avial - Kerala Mixed Vegetable Curry with Coconut and Yogurt

Avial – a mixed vegetable curry in a spiced coconut and yogurt sauce, is a very quintessential Kerala dish that is made for Sadya (a feast)! It also features very regularly in everyday meals in Kerala.

Course Vegetable Curries

Cuisine Indian, Kerala

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings cups

Calories 166kcal

Author Manju

Ingredients

2 cups Mixed Vegetables - Raw Plantain, Elephant Yam, Yellow Cucumber, Carrot, Potato, Drumstick, Chayote Squash, cut into 3 inch long strips (peel the plantain, yam, cucumber, potato)
1 cup Water just enough to cook the vegetables
½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
Salt to taste

To grind to a paste:

½ cup Grated coconut I use freshly frozen that I buy from our local Indian store
¼ cup Yogurt
½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
2 Thai green chillies

For garnish:

10 Curry leaves
2 teaspoon Coconut Oil

Instructions

Cover and cook the vegetables in the water with the turmeric powder, till soft. Check the drumstick to see if it is soft, if so all other vegetables should be cooked. Drumstick takes the longest to cook. Add salt to this once the vegetables are cooked.
Grind together the coconut, cumin, green chillies and yogurt to a fine paste.
Add this paste to the cooked vegetables.
Garnish/season with the coconut oil and curry leaves.

Notes

You can use other vegetables like the small eggplant, other squashes or melons etc. This is usually the combination I use.
Yogurt is used as the souring agent here. In certain parts of Kerala, tamarind is used as the souring agent instead. If using tamarind, use a lime sized ball, soak in water and take out the pulp. Add this to the vegetables when they are cooking. Skip the yogurt. Grind the coconut with a little water instead.
If using frozen coconut, microwave the frozen grated coconut for 30 secs or so. This way the coconut seems to grind better without having fat solids stuck in the mixer/food processor.

Nutrition