Avial

Avial is a delicious and healthy thick mixture of vegetables, coconut and curd. This dish is very common in Kerala as well as Tamil cuisine. 

My mom started enjoying this recipe as vegetables we add are those we normally don't eat often and when all goes with curd and coconut results is yummy and healthy treat, and good thing about this dish, we are using pressure cooking and sauteing cooking methods, which is best and healthy method of cooking.

Ingredients

1 drumstick

1 carrot

100 gms Yam (Suran)

1 large Potato

100 gms pumpkin

50 gms French beans

1 raw banana

2 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

3/4th cup fresh grated coconut or 2tbsp desiccated coconut

1 tsp cumin seeds 

Few curry leaves

1 tbsp oil (coconut oil is the best)

1/2 cup thick yogurt

Action

◾Wash, Peel and Chop Vegetables. Peel the carrots, potatoes, yam, banana and pumpkin and cut into cubes. Split drumsticks in half and cut into 1” pieces. Break the edges of the green beans and cut into small cubes.

 

Now wash all vegetables under running water. 

Drain the water with help of colander, keep aside.

◾Cooking Time

Cooking will be done in pressure cooker

Heat coconut oil, add cumin, mustard seeds when it starts crackle and curry leaves, add all the vegetables except drumsticks, saute them for five to seven minutes on slow to medium flame.

Take another utensil for cooking drumsticks separately by adding half glass or sufficient water, cook them on slow flame covering lid for 8-10 minutes, as drumsticks get cooked properly and see to it, it should not be gets broken in piece's. That's why we are avoiding cooking with other vegetables, as for vegetables we are using pressure cooker.

Now back to our pressure cooker, where now vegetable's are sauteing, now in that add chili powder, turmeric powder, salt. Add 500-800 ml water (sufficient water for pressure cooking), mix well, Cover and allow to pressure cook up to 2-3 whistles, then slow the flame and cook for 2-3 minutes. till the vegetables are tender. 

Open the pressure cooker add desiccated coconut, if using fresh coconut, then that goes with pressure cooking, but as i am using desiccated form, i am adding after pressure cooking as if we add before, it will result in lot of oil secretion and make the vegetable heavy and unpalatable.

Now its time to mix well and add curd, but we need to wait for few minutes to cool down else if we add curd now in hot, that will curdle the curd, so you need to take good care. 

Now stir in the yogurt and let it gently heat through for a minute or so. Remove from the heat and serve warm.