Avial

Avial is a receipe prepared with lot of vegetables. This is the traditional avial which is famous in Kerala. The ingredients are as follow:

Ingredients :-

1. Raw Plantain
   
2. Eggplant(Brinjal)
   
3. Suran (chena kizhangu)
   
4. Pumpkin
   
5. Winter Melon
6. Beans
7. Peas
8. Carrot
9. Chow chow (Bangalore Kathirikkai)
10. Avarakkai
11. Tindora (kovakkai)
12. Long Beans (karamani)
13. Drumsticks
14. Raw mango (if available)
15. Green chillies - 7
16. Fresh coconut - 1 cup
17. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
18. salt to taste
19. asafoetida - a pinch
20. coconut oil - 2 tbsp
21. curry leaves - few
22. Sour curd - 1/4 cup (beat it)
    

Wash and cut all the vegetables into 1" size. Cook the vegetables in a big pan with turmeric powder, salt and 1 tbsp of coconut oil. Do not over cook. Its better to add the vegetables one by one according to its cooking time. Now grind the coconut with green chillies without adding much water to it. Drain the vegetables if there is more water. Now add the coconut chilly paste to it and stir it thoroughly so that the vegetables get coated with the paste. Now add the curry leaves, coconut oil to it and mix it. Mix it carefully. Do not the mash the vegetables while mixing. Turn the stove off and now add the beaten curd to it. Again mix and take it out of the stove.

This avial can be a good side dish for Adai, Chapathi or poori. Since the number of vegetables used is more, we need only less in each of them. This can be used for 2 days under refridgeration. In my house, my mom and patti make this avial as a main dish. In that case, we have to add a little more beaten curd or water to make the avial in a watery consistency. In my in laws place, we use it as a side dish for Kalantha saadam (variety rice). My Mother in law use a teaspoon of cumin seeds with coconut and green chillies, for grinding.