Aviyal

Aviyal is a south-Indian delicacy and seems like no two households make it the same. Essentially, all the recipes use the same ingredients – vegetables, curds(yogurt), coconut , spices – but the details and proportions vary. This is my mother's Andhra recipe for Aviyal. I hope you like it as much as we do.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 25 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Calories: 265 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup water
• 2 green chile peppers, chopped
• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ cup cubed potatoes
• ¼ teaspoon caraway seeds
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• ½ cup diced carrot
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2 dried red chile peppers, broken into pieces
• 1 pinch Salt, to taste
• 1 sprig fresh curry leaves
• 1 tablespoon split Bengal gram (chana dal)
• ½ cup cut fresh green beans
• ½ cup sliced plantain

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place the coconut, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and chana dal in a container and cover with a few inches of cool water; allow the mixture to soak for 2 hours. Drain. Using a mortar and pestle, grind the mixture with the green chile peppers into a paste. Stir the yogurt into the mixture.

Step 2

Bring the water and salt to a boil in a pot. Add the green beans, potatoes, plantain, and carrot to the water and return to a boil; cook until tender. Reduce heat to low and stir the yogurt mixture into the vegetables; simmer the vegetables in the yogurt mixture for about 5 minutes, but do not allow to boil.

Step 3

Heat the oil in a small skillet. Fry the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, red chile peppers, and caraway seeds in the hot oil until they splutter. Add the curry leaves to the mixture and fry together another 30 seconds. Stir the mixture into the vegetable mixture and serve.