Tips for Preparing a Perfect Avial Recipe At Home

Avial

Avial, also known s Aviyal, is a stew made of mixed vegetables. This dish is common in Tamil Nadu and features a variety of vegetables in a rich coconut masala. An avial curry recipe is a great way to get more vegetables in your diet and is often part of a traditional South Indian lunch. Avial is also a tasty addition to Adai, which are thick crepes made with lentils, but you can also enjoy Avial Indian food with coconut rice.

When you prepare Avial in instant pot, you can use vegetables like green beans, cucumbers, and unripe plantains, or any leftover vegetables you have in your fridge. The vegetables are simmered in a curd-based gravy that has a light tangy flavor. However, in Southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala, you can use tamarind in place of curd. This variation of the dish is known as Puli Aviyal.

When you’re learning how to cook avial, it’s important to keep some tips in mind to ensure that the dish has the right textures and flavor profiles. Keep in mind that adding curd to the Aviyal recipe which adds a tangy or sour taste to the dish. You can also add soaked tamarind water or dried mango to the curry as well to give it a sour taste. If you’re making instant pot avial and want to have a thick gravy, you should add a teaspoon or two of soaked channa dal or soaked rice while grinding the coconut. Learning how to make a-vial also involves adding potatoes, beans, and carrots to the gravy. However, these ingredients are not used in some avial recipe variations so you can skip them if you would like.

A Brief History of Avial

There are several stories surrounding avial curry and its origins. It is believed that avial vegetables were develop by ‘bhima’ when he was exiled with his other Pandava brothers (or sons of Pandu). Legend has it that Bhima invented this dish when he was required to serve a meal to King Virata and there were not enough vegetables to prepare a single curry. This is the reason all the vegetables are mixed and sautéed with grated coconut to make the dish heartier.

Tips for Preparing an Avial Recipe

When you’re preparing the Aviyal recipe, you should use firm vegetables. However, you may have to boil some vegetables ahead of time since ingredients like raw plantain or chow chow takes more time to cook than pumpkin or cucumber. You should cook all the stiff vegetables for a avial recipe until the ingredients are about 90% cooked. Once the vegetables are completely cooked, add the softer veggies that only take a few minutes to cook. The squash and cucumber for the Aviyal recipe have a high water content and cook fast and easily. However, if you add the softer veggies in with the firm vegetables too soon, they will lose their shape and become too mushy.

If you’re making an avial instant pot recipe, be sure to add lots of coconut during the grinding process to lend the flavor of coconut to the dish. Coconut has a naturally mild flavor and you’ll need lots of us to properly season all the vegetables.

Ingredients for Avial

Whether you prefer a traditional avial recipe or you’re making an avial recipe instant pot-style, here are the ingredients you’ll need:

• I peeled carrot cut into 1-inch slices

• 4-5 pieces of drumstick (Moringa) cut into 2-3 inch pieces

• half of a chow chow (Chayote squash) sliced in half-inch pieces

• half a peeled cucumber, sliced into 1-inch pieces

• 1 peeled raw banana, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1 peeled potato, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 100g of peeled white pumpkin (ash gourd), cut into 1-inch pieces

• 100g of peeled yellow pumpkin, cut into 1-inch thickness

• 1 sliced brinjal (eggplant) cut into 1-inch thickness

• 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt (adjust as needed)

• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil

• a few curry leaves

• half a teaspoon of turmeric

• half a cup of plain yogurt (curd)

Ingredients for Grinding the Avial:

• half a cup of grated coconut

• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

• 3 green chili peppers

The Grinding Process for the Avial Recipe:

Take the coconut, green chilies, and salt and place them in a blender jar. Grind the ingredients until they form a smooth paste by adding 2 tablespoons of water. Set this mixture aside.

Cooking the Vegetables for the Avial

Take the drumstick, raw banana, potato, chow chow, and carrot and place them in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the turmeric and a cup of water. Cover the pan and cook the vegetables until they are almost fully cooked. When the veggies are about 90% cooked, add the rest of the veggies such as as white pumpkin, yellow pumpkin, cucumber, and eggplant. The latter group of vegetables are high in water content and cook faster than the other vegetables.

Adding the Ground Paste and Yogurt to the Avial

When all the vegetables are cooked and softened, add the coconut paste and mix the ingredients gently.

Add the yogurt and mix again. Add the coconut oil and curry leaves and gently mix once more.

The Avial is ready to serve You can add a side of sambar rice or adai before serving.

More Instructions to Consider for Avial

First, take the jeera, green chili, and coconut in a small blender. Add water so that the ingredients will turn into a smooth paste and set the mixture aside to use later.

In a large pot of kadai, cook the potatoes with water and salt. Add the vegetables of your choice to the pot once the potatoes soften slightly.

Add the curry leaves and turmeric and stir well. Cover and cook the mixture for about 7 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked well.

Add the prepared coconut gravy and boil for about five minutes. Turn off the hart and add the yogurt. Meanwhile, you should prepare the tempering by heating the oil. Add the mustard seed, urad dal, red chilies, curry leaves, and asafetida. Let the ingredients sputter.

Pour the tempering into the avial and combine well.

Serve the avial with shame or plain rice.

Enjoy!

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