Aviyal or Avial, an aromatic stew of mixed vegetables cooked in coconut and green chilli masala, and topped with yogurt. It can be served with rice and makes a delicious combo with adai.
Aviyal Story
According to Wiki, Aviyal is believed to have been invented by Bhima, one of the pandava brothers during their exile. According to the legend, when Bhima’s assumed his duties as the cook in the kitchen of Virata, he did not know how to cook. One of the first things he did was to chop up many different vegetables, boil them together and top the dish with grated coconut.
The preparation of aviyal slightly varies from region to region. In Tamil cuisine, curd is either completely avoided or added very less just for tanginess. Instead we use lots of coconut to make it a rich curry. So, Tamilnadu style aviyal can be termed as vegan, if you miss the curd. The final dish would almost be dry, like this one here
There are other variations to aviyal like Puli aviyal, made with tamarind, instead of curd. Likewise Panchamanga aviyal, where raw mango is used instead of curd.
Onam Sadya
Onam is one of the popular festivals celebrated by Malayali’s all over the world. Malayalis around the world celebrate the 10-day harvest festival of Kerala and the return of the legendary King Mahabali, by organising a grand feast, also known as Onam Sadhya. A sadhya feast is incomplete without Aviyal.
Kerala Sadya Recipes
I love my aviyal to be saucy unlike the Tamilnadu style avial which is done dry. As a rice lover, I prefer to mix it with rice and enjoy. Adai Aviyal, is a very popular Tiffen combo, available in many south-indian restaurants as a weekend special menu. Hot Adai with all the spices gets balanced well when paired with Aviyal.
Check these Adai Varieties
- Mixed millet adai, made of 4 different millets and lentils.
- Varagu arisi adai, made of kodo millet and lentil
- Multigrain adai, made of 7 different grains and lentils.
- Oats Adai
What kind of vegetables to use for Aviyal
Traditionally root vegetables like Potato, arbi/colocasia, yam, along with raw plantain, carrots, chayote, drumstick/moringa pods, French beans, green peas, ash gourd etc are used.
Here in UAE, we get aviyal mix as pack which sometimes contain even snakegourd, bottle gourd etc. Since, it is a stew of mix vegetables, add all your favorite and some non-favorite veggies too and enjoy.
How to make delicious Kerala Style Aviyal
Please check recipe card below for exact measurements of each ingredient used and also for the detailed instructions
- Wash and prep all the veggies, it is better if you cut them all in equal sizes, easy to cook.
- I have microwave cooked the moringa pods/drumstick. Take the chopped drumstick in a microwave safe container, add enough water, little salt and turmeric powder and cook in high for 8 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
- Take rest of theveggies in a wide pan, add water to immerse the veggies and cook them until fork-tender, alternatively you can also steam cook the veggies. Drain the excess water and keep aside.
- While the veggies are cooking, take the ingredients given under ‘grind’ in a mixer jar and grind it to a smooth paste with enough water.
- Heat a wide pan with oil, preferably coconut oil. Add all the drained veggies, cooked drumstick, peas and mix well.
- Add the ground masala to this and ½ Cup water, I used the excess drained water from cooking the veggies. Mix well and let this cook for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to infuse well.
- When it Aviyal comes out almost dry, Switch off the flame. Let this cool completely, then add the whisked yogurt to this and mix well
- Heat the oil given under “Tempering” in a kadai, crackle cumin seeds, add broken red chilies, curry leaves and pour the sizzling tempering over the Aviyal and Enjoy
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Kerala Style Aviyal Recipe
A rich and aromatic stew of mixed vegetables, cooked in mildy spiced coconut masala, topped with curd and a delectable tempering in coconut oil.
Aviyal | Avial Recipe | Kerala Style Aviyal
Ingredients
- 1 no large Potato cut into cubes
- 2 nos nos raw plantain
- 1 no large carrot
- ½ cup green peas i used frozen
- 1 no drumstick/moringa pod Cut into 1 inch piece
- A handful of french beans Each cut it into 3 pieces
- 2 cups chopped ash gourd/white pumpkin
- 2 cups of whisked yogurt
- salt to taste
To Grind
- ½ cup freshly grated coconut
- 3-4 nos green chilies
- 2 sprigs of curry leaves
- ½ teaspoon cumin/jeera
- 1 teaspoon shredded ginger
Tempering
- 2 teaspoon coconut oil
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 sprigs of curry leaves
- 2-3 nos red chilies broken into two, i used long variety
Instructions
- Wash Potato, Carrot and French Beans. Peel the Potato, Plantain and Carrot and cut them into Chunks
- Take the Chopped Drumstick in a Microwave safe bowl with 1 cup of water, add little salt and Cook @ Microwave High for 8 minutes. By this time the Drumstick must be cooked. Drain the excess water and keep it aside until use
- Take rest of the veggies(Potatoes, Carrot, Beans, Plantain, Ashgourd) except peas in a deep pan, Add water just enough for the veggies to submerge. Add the required salt to this and cook until all the veggies are fork-tender.
- Take care not to overcook them, When the water starts boiling, wait for 5 minutes then Switch off the flame and keep the pan covered for 10 minutes. This will make sure the veggies are cooked. Let it cool for sometime, Drain the excess water and keep aside until use
- While the Veggies are cooking, take the ingredients given under “To Grind” in a mixer and add ½ cup of water and grind it to a smooth paste.
- Heat 2 teaspoon of oil in another pan, add all the drained veggies, cooked drumstick, peas and mix well. add the ground masala to this and ½ Cup water, i used the excess drained water from cooking the veggies. Mix well and let this cook for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to infuse well
- When the aviyal comes out almost dry, Switch off the flame. Let this cool completely, then add the whisked yogurt to this and mix well.
Tempering
- For tempering, heat the oil given under “Tempering” in a kadai, crackle cumin seeds, add broken red chilies, curry leaves and pour the sizzling tempering over the Aviyal.
- Enjoy it with Hot Adai or Have it as such as a Snack, i did both and loved it totally.
Notes
- Drumstick is a hard vegetable, it takes little more time to cook so it is cooked separately. If adding stiff veggies like yam, colocasia, cook them separately. This avoids over cooking of other soft veggies.
- Adding cumin seeds to the coconut masala or to the tempering is completely optional.
- Veggies can also be steam cooked. I have used very little water to cook the veggies here and any excess drained water is used to liquefy while adding coconut masala to the aviyal.
- Aviyal stores well for a day or two in the refrigerator. Take care it might turn a bit sour too and If adding do not reheat it for longer time, it might split, again because of the curd. .
Enjoy this aromatic and flavorsome vegetable stew with rice or with thick and crispy adai.
As i have mentioned in the recipe card, Aviyal stores well for a day or two in the refrigerator. Take care it might turn a bit sour too and If adding do not reheat it for longer time, it might split, again because of the curd.
More Curd Based Gravies
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Lifewithspices
wonderful combo.. healthy replc for rice love tis..
Priya Anandakumar
Super delicious and healthy Priya…
kitchen queen
delicious and awesome combo.
Unknown
delicious and healthy adai
virunthu unna vaanga
yummy and healthy…
Shobha
Delicious meal .. love it.
Unknown
nice combination, love the variation
Eat n Eat little More
healthy one priya…
Eat n Eat little More
first time here n happy to follow you!
Gajus Kitchen
wonderful combo of adai and avial..will try this version using barley.I would like to know whether the adai will be on the softer side as there is no rice in this recipe.
Gajus Kitchen
wonderful combo of adai and avial.Will try this version using barley.I would like to know whether the adai will be softer as there is no rice in this recipe.
Chitz
Wonderful combo.. Love them always.. A healthier adai 🙂
Aparna Balasubramanian
I know this is very popular in Tamilnadu. I liked yor multi-grain adai. Thanks for participating in this month's MLLA.
Sharon
This is a hearty meal that is comforting and full of flavor. Goes wonderful with some white rice.
Jamie
This is such a wonderful, satisfying meal! I love the flavor of the fresh coconut. My family loved it!
Tara
Oh yum! Such wonderful flavors packed into this Aviyal! I absolutely love all those spices.
Beth Sachs
This was a delicious vegetable stew and perfect with a side of rice.
Rika
I love healthy stews like this. My husband isn’t a meat eater and sure he will enjoy this for lunch.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
Give me aviyal any time and I will be happy. This looks so delicious and I am now craving for a hot bowl of rice and some paruppu.
Beeb
This recipe is so unique and interesting! I can’t wait to try it out!
Natalie
What a lovely stew. Looks delicious! It’s perfect for colder days like we have now. I will add this to my list to try.
Pavani
Adai and aviyal is such an amazing combo. I love aviyal with a bit of gravy as well – perfect with rice and adai.
Vandana
Very informative post. I didn’t know there are so many different ways of making aviyal. Great recipe, thanks for sharing.