The Secret to Perfecting Kerala-Style Avial

Marina Balakrishnan finds herself drawn to the food of her childhood, the aroma of coconut oil carrying her to reassuring, familiar places as she pursued precision, perfecting the humble avial. Find more favourite lockdown recipes from Goya readers here.

2020 has been about exploring, discovering, and perfecting. Being locked in for most of the year was cathartic in more ways than one, and food was the anchor that grounded me, brought me comfort and filled me with wonder in an otherwise difficult year. I went back to food from my childhood in Kerala, and with the leisure to cook the same recipe over and over again, I could pay attention to each subtle flavour, sharpening my senses. Avial has been a mainstay; a recipe that I worked on perfecting, cooking over and over again. It is a humble dish, but the lessons I’ve learned cooking it have been innumerable. The secret to a good avial is retaining the freshness and crunch of each vegetable. I’ve learnt to pay close attention to the cooking time, developing an instinct for it. And my business in food, Oottupura, has benefitted tremendously from it.

RECIPE FOR KERALA AVIAL

Serves 2 
Ingredients
1 carrot
1 drumstick 
5 green beans
1/4 cup yam 
1/4 cup raw banana
1/4 cup ash gourd
1/4 cup snake gourd
1/4 cup madras cucumber
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup yoghurt
Curry leaves, few sprigs 
2 green chillies, slit 
4 tbsp coconut oil 

Method 
Cut the vegetables into 2-inch batons
Blanch the carrots in salted water 
Boil the drumsticks separately to remove any bitterness. Set aside to cool. 
Now, marinate all the vegetables with 2 tbsp coconut oil, turmeric, curry leaves and salt for 20 minutes (the marination begins to soften the veggies right away)
Coarsely blend coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies 
Now, on a medium to low flame, place the remaining vegetables in a pan and cover with a lid. Allow to cook gently in the moisture released through steaming. Check intermittently, stir gently, and check doneness — we want the vegetables to retain their crunch.
Add in the carrot and drumsticks when the vegetables are close to cooked, but still al dente.
Make a well in the centre, and pour in the coconut paste and allow to cook for some more time. Stir intermittently.
Add the in curry leaves and 1 tbsp coconut oil 
Once done, allow to rest for a few minutes, then add in the freshly beaten yoghurt with salt. Toss well to combine.
Drizzle some more coconut oil over, and let the flavours seep in for 10 minutes before serving.

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