Avial or Aviyal is a classic south-Indian dish and is widely popular in the state of Kerala. It is a mixed vegetable curry with white creamy gravy made with curd and coconut milk. The dish is an assortment of various seasonal vegetables. Eggplant, yam, beans, pumpkin, raw banana, drumsticks, gourds, carrots etc. are some of the vegetables that are commonly picked to make this vegetable curry. Avial is one of the oldest dishes of our country; its history can be traced back to the times of Mahabharata. According to the legends, avial was actually invented by Prince Bhima, one of the five Pandavas during their exile. It is said that once Pandavas had an unannounced guest visit their home and Bhima had to prepare something quickly with whatever was available at home. He cooked this curry with a melange of foods, which turned out to be an impressive fare and went on to become an epic south Indian dish.
There are different versions of this dish made by people as per their personal liking. With the help of this recipe video on NDTV Food YouTube's channel, you can make avial with vegetables like- drumstick, chopped pumpkin, ash gourd, beans, yam (jhimikand), tindora and carrots. The vegetables are cooked along with a creamy paste of coconut and curd and green chillies. A tempering or tadka of curry leaves fried with mustard seeds in coconut oil is added to the dish that makes it extremely flavourful and fragrant.
Watch the recipe video for the exact method of making this Kerala special avial curry at home
(Also Read: Healthy South Indian Recipes - From Ragi Idlis to Avial and More)
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