Aviyal

Aviyal…What can u say about this remarkable dish…. I don’t think mere words can express the tremendous popularity of this dish in Kerala cuisine…. especially its prominence in Sadhya (feast given on occasions calling for celebrations). Well, can’t even envisage a Sadhya without an aviyal…even it is for a small lunch party at home. Accdg to my mother-in-law, in her times, Keralites used to believe that one’s culinary skills can be judged based on his/her ability to make a good aviyal…can’t rely on that though, right? However, u can definitely rely on her culinary skills, which has been blissfully passed on to me too during such a short span of time. Lucky me!!!!!

Well, coming back to aviyal, this exotic dish is actually a combination of all assorted veggies with a mildly hot n sour coconut curry base. The aroma emitted by the curry leaves n coconut oil is truly mouthwatering and infact leaves you completely fascinated…. honestly, happens to me….all the time when I make this dish…:) And I guess this is one particular dish which is enjoyed equally by all including kids….especially coz it is neither too hot nor too spicy. So I really find it useful to make my little one have all the vegetables which otherwise are not preferred by those taste buds…. Another good thing about this recipe is that this is one of a kind in Kerala cuisine which takes in almost all the vegetables (other than Sambhar) giving you the liberty to add any veggies of your choice and availability and yet make a wonderful aviyal for lunch…. Well here goes my recipe for the naadan veg aviyal….

You would require
1 – 1.5 kg of assorted vegetables (Ash gourd, Cucumber, Drumsticks, Carrot, Long brinjal, Snake gourd, Elephant yam, Raw plantain, French beans, Long runner beans and the list goes on….)
1 – 2 Raw mangoes (peeled or unpeeled)
1 tsp Cumin seeds
3 – 4 Small onions(Shallots)
1 – 2 Green chilies
½ of one Coconut
1 tsp Turmeric powder
Lots of Curry leaves
Coconut oil – As required
Salt – As required

1) Wash all the veggies well and cut them lengthwise into 2-inch pieces. While cutting veggies, make sure to put the yam, plantain and brinjal pieces in water for a few minutes to get rid of the sticky serum. You can use it after that.
2) Heat a vessel/pan on fire… It is better to use Urali to make aviyal as it has enough width and space to mix the curry around with your spatula.
3) Put all the veggies along with turmeric powder, salt, around 2 - 3 glass of water, curry leaves and a tbsp of oil into it. The veggies need not be fully immersed in water. It should be just enough to cook them.



4) Cover the pan/Urali and cook till the veggies are nearly done.



5) Meanwhile, grind together grated coconut, cumin seeds, small onions/shallots, a few curry leaves and green chilies into a coarse form. Do not make it into a paste form adding water. Just a couple of quick runs in the mixer grinder are enough.
6) When the vegetables are nearly cooked, open the lid and add the cut mango pieces. Mix well.
7) Cook again without the lid on.
8) When 90% of the water content has evaporated, add the coconut mixture on top of the veggies and spread it evenly in the vessel. Do not mix everything up for the moment. You can cover the pan so that the coconut too is cooked well.


9) After some time, remove the lid and mix everything well.
10) By this time, all the water would have been evaporated and the aviyal would get a semi-dry consistency. Check for salt and add more if reqd.
11) When done, add fresh curry leaves and 2 – 3 tbsp of coconut oil and close it with a lid to lock the aroma and your aviyal is ready to be served.

If you netsurf for an Aviyal recipe, you’d probably find another hundreds of recipes with variations in ingredients and the one variation in particular would be the usage of raw mangoes, which is often substituted with Tamarind (Vaalan puli), Tomatoes, or even Sour Curd. So, if you would like to go for tamarind pulp or sour curd, add the water in the initial stage accdgly as the tamarind juice and curd would further dilute the aviyal. And if you want your aviyal to be thick or dry which are by and large preferred by people, then, add coconut only after the whole water content has been evaporated…. though both works for me….. You can also add chilly powder instead of green chilies to give that orangish color to the dish though yellow looks yummy too…... Though this one in particular has been one of my all-time favorite recipes, I have tried out other varieties of aviyals too…. And I would definitely share those too with you…

And a final word for those who are considering this dish as highly healthy and nutritious coz of the inclusion of the veggies… let me tell you that this dish is not only nutritious but is infact a Cholesterol factory with a lot of fresh coconut and coconut oil going into it. So, if you do not want to increase that C factor, reduce the oil and amount of coconut accdgly… However, I don’t think Keralites wouldn’t mind compromising on this since they know that an occasional treat of aviyal, sambhar n thoran as a side dish with rice would definitely make their day along with giving them a satisfaction of having something naadan!!!! And it is certainly something to cherish about…..!!!!

Happy cooking!!!!