Avial
December 23, 2011 • Food & Cooking, Spiritual Adventures
A classic preparation from Kerala, Avial is a light, easy-to-make dish of vegetables cooked with coconut and yogurt. It goes particularly well with Pallapam. Preparation should take no more than 15 minutes, even faster if you use the microwave.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped vegetables – carrots, beans, peas, onions potato are all good
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 clove of garlic
green chili to taste
1/2 cup yogurt
Curry leaves, if available
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Cilantro for garnish
Method
1. Cook the vegetables. This can be done in boiling water, by adding the vegetables in sequence depending on how long they take to cook ie. potatoes first, then carrots, then beans. Alternatively, do the same thing in a microwave, starting with the slower cooking vegetables and adding the faster cooking ones later.
2. In a Cuisinart or blender, grind the coconut, turmeric, cumin and chilies.
3. Drain the vegetables (if boiled in water) and then stir in the ground coconut paste, yogurt, curry leaves, salt to taste and coconut oil. Check consistency and add a little water if it is too dry – there should be a little bit of a sauce clinging to the vegetables, but no liquid settling at the bottom. Cook for a few more minutes over a medium heat – too much heat will curdle the yogurt so be careful.
Serve with rice or palappam and garnish with fresh cilantro.
Notes
• If I don’t have coconut oil, I sometimes use coconut flavored yogurt instead of the regular kind, but be careful that it is not overly sweetened. Siggi’s, which is available at many high end groceries makes a really good one.
• Curry leaves are a distinctive South Indian herb that is usually only available in Indian grocery stores. They are worth looking for, but the dish is almost as good without it.
South India’s Mouth Watering Treasure
Tamil Nadu, the land of the Tamils, was dominated by the Dravidian culture for 2500 years. The cuisine is distinctly different from that of the north, and is based primarily on rice rather than wheat and an abundant use of coconut. With a largely vegetarian population like much of India, Tamil Na...
Read More
Madurai’s Sacred Citadel to the Goddess
Madurai’s Meenakshi Temple in South India, Hinduism’s grandest citadel to the goddess, is a sacred place of pilgrimage for Hindus the world over and one of the most famous temples in India. This temple, centuries old and hand carved out of granite, covers an area of 16.5 acres. In Mad...
Read More
Ayurveda and Yoga Retreat in South India
An invitation to join Jasmine Grace on a Vedic Adventure in South India from Nov 29 to Dec 10, 2017. “On my upcoming fifth trip to India, I feel it is a deep honor to guide beautiful beings through the soul-stirring and beautiful land of India. In true Dandapani style, this is no ordinary yoga&he...
Read More
A life-transforming journey awaits you
Every year I conduct a retreat in Asia which is open to the public. These journeys are opportunities for people to get away from their daily routines, study with me in a deeper way and embark on a journey of self-transformation. In February of 2017 I’ll be guiding a group of individuals on ...
Read More
