Avial - South Indian Vegetable Yogurt Curry

Serve Avial with hot rice and enjoy !

Spring and Summer brings colorful, fresh vegetables and fruits packed with nutrition. We can see it on display in our local farmer's market and stores. This is the best time to make Avial. When we were kids, it used to be our summer weekend special item. To my surprise, the vegetables added to the avial are packed with vitamins and minerals that would help your body to carry through the Summer. Avial is also one of the dishes that includes all the six tastes. You can use any vegetables available, just make sure to have raw banana and drumstick included. Let's try to get the maximum benefit out of these vegetables......

Main ingredients

Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking time: 10 min
Serving size: 4

Ingredients

• Green beans - 15 nos

  

  Grind the coconut, poppy seeds

• Carrot - 1 medium size
• Raw banana - 1 medium size
• Drumstick - 2 nos
• Chow Chow - 1/2(Chayote)
• Nookal(Kohlrabi)  - 1/2
• Potato - 1 medium size
• Coconut - 3 inch pieces 5 nos
• Poppy seeds - 1 tsp(soaked)
• Green chillies - 3 nos
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - 3 strands
• Pure Edible Coconut oil - 1 or 2 tsp
• Curd/Yogurt - 1 cup(sour curd is preferred)
• Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp 
• Salt to taste

Note: If curd is not sour, you can add 1/2 raw mango to give the sour taste in the Avial.

Pressure cook for one whistle on high heat

Preparation and Cooking 

1. Clean and cut all the vegetables into 2 inch long pieces.
2. First cut the vegetables like green beans, turnip, drumstick, chow chow and start boiling it in little bit of water. Cook it at-least for 5 minutes in medium heat.
3. Meanwhile cut the potato, carrot and raw banana. Add it to the pressure cooker along with other vegetables. Add turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds and cook on high for one whistle in the pressure cooker.

   

   Add vegetables and yogurt to boiled coconut paste and do seasoning

4. While the vegetables are being cooked, grind the coconut, poppy seeds, green chillies and 3/4 tsp of cumin seeds. Make sure that the paste is coarse, not very fine.
5. Once the cooker lets out the whistle, remove it from stove and open the cooker immediately. Transfer the vegetables to a broader vessel. This is to make sure the vegetables are cooked enough but does not become overcooked and mushy. 
6. Warm a big broad vessel on medium heat(I used my big cooker itself).
7. Add the ground coconut paste and bring it to a boil. Remove from stove as soon as the paste boils so that you don't overcook the coconut paste.
8. Add the cooked vegetables and curd to the boiled coconut paste and give it a mix. Take care to not break the vegetables and so give a gentle mix. Add salt as needed. The aroma of coconut with cumin seeds is really invigorating.
9. In a small pan do seasoning with 1 tsp of coconut oil. Once the oil is warm add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. The coconut oil adds to the taste of the Avial.
10. Add the seasoning to the Avial and give a slight twirl.
11. Mouth watering Avial is ready to be served. Serve with hot rice and enjoy.....

    

    Avail is ready to be served

Nutritional facts

Green beans and raw banana are rich in dietary fiber. It also has iron, calcium for bone growth. The beta-carotene in beans and carrot gets converted to vitamin A which is good for vision. Carrot is rich in anti-oxidant that slows down the aging of cells and hence keeps you looking young. The vitamin B6 in raw banana helps in the formation of hemoglobin in the blood. Drumstick has high content of iron, vitamins and calcium and helps in purifying the blood. Chayote is a friend of the digestive tract. The vitamin C in the Nookal strengthens our immune system and helps in regeneration of vitamin E. The calcium and magnesium content in coconut strengthens bones and teeth. The fatty acids in poppy seeds helps lower the bad cholesterol in the blood.

Serve Avial with hot rice and side dish of your choice

Yogurt is rich in probiotics which aids digestion and keeps intestinal tract healthy.

I suggest to use coconut oil for seasoning which gives the authentic taste to the Avial. Until I wrote the nutritional facts about the avial I wasn't aware of rich nutrition packed in this curry.  So I have decided to make this special dish often. Our last meal turned out to be a finger licking one.... Try it in your home and let me know how everyone in the family likes it.

You may also be interested in the following recipes: 

Poondu Kozhambu Or Garlic Curry

Chana Dal Curry Or Vada Curry

Madras Kaara Kozhambu - Spicy Coconut Curry