All the Veggies You Need: Make A Kerala-Style Avial with Coconut and Yogurt

There's a reason that avial is a year-round favourite in Malayali homes. It is the perfect way to use up all the leftover veggies in your fridge in a delicious, tangy dish that you can smush into your rice and create a satisfyingly slurpy meal. Make it as dry or wet as you like (we enjoy a bit of extra gravy), and in large batches so you can pull it out to go with several meals. And don’t let the long ingredient list scare you - just use whatever you have at home. The most beautiful thing about avial is how accommodating it is.

Ingredients
1 drumstick
1 green banana
1/4 kilo long beans
2 carrots
1/4 kilo yam
1/4 white pumpkin kohlrabi
1 yellow cucumber
1 onion, sliced
10 green chillies
1/2 inch ginger, chopped
1 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt, to taste

1/2 coconut, coarsely ground
6 shallots
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 cloves garlic
1 sprig curry leaves
3 tbsp sour yogurt*
1/2 cup water

Method
Cut the vegetables all into in equal length pieces - about 1.5 inches
In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Then add in the onion, 5 green chilli, ginger and yam, together with turmeric, salt and chilli powder.
When the yam is about three-quarters done, add in all the other vegetables and cook till done.
Meanwhile, in a mixer, coarsely grind the remaining green chillies together with the coconut, shallots, cumin, garlic, and curry leaves.
Now add in the ground mixture
In a bowl, beat the curd with half a cup of water, and add into the mix. Stir well.
Bring to a boil again, check that all the veggies are cooked, and reduce the water till it reaches the desired consistency.
Turn off the heat and finish with coconut oil on top.

*If your yogurt isn't sour, you can substitute with a bit of tamarind.

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