Avial

Avial is a dish served with rice , typically for Onam Sadya.It is a delicacy from Kerala in which vegetables are stewed and topped with grated coconut and sometimes yogurt.I brought this ashgourd home and it has been sitting in my fridge and my mother in law told me today that she didn’t know how to make it, so did my mom.So I happened to teach them this simple and delicious curry today.

Ingredients:
1 plantain peeled and cubed
2 cups ash gourd pieces cubed
10 french beans cut in half lengthwise
5 carrots cut lengthwise
2 teaspoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon urad dal
1 teaspoon chana dal
1 cup yogurt
1/8 spoon turmeric
4-5 green chili slit lengthwise
1 sprig curry leaves
1/2 cup grated coconut
salt to taste
1/2 onion diced
2 red chili

Procedure:
1.In a saucepan boil the vegetables 3/4 way in salt water and keep aside.Keep the water.

2.Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and let splutter.Then add the cumin, urad dal, chana dal, curry leaves, red chili and let splutter.Now add the onion and green chili and saute till translucent.

3.Add the coconut and saute for 1 minute and grind this mixture to a coarse paste.

4.Take the mixture back into the pan, add a little water, adjust salt and add cumin powder and the vegetables and let cook for 5 more minutes.

5.Now add the curd and give a stir turn off the stove.Serve with rice.

Tips:
You can use elephant yam, pumpkin, eggplant, okra, drumsticks, snake gourd etc to the Avial.
Cooking times for vegetables vary, so cook the veggies that take more time first and then add the others half way through inorder to prevent overcooking of a few vegetables.