Avial

Avial 

Compiled  by

P.R.Ramachander

When king Marthanda Verma was  ruling over Travancore , He had a minister called  Ramayyan  Dalavai  , who was a  Tamil Brahmin from  Tinneveli  .There is a practice of conducting Laksha Dweepam and Mura  Japam in the Padmanabha  swamy temple   every 12 years.Very large number  of Brahmins are fed.Once after  the Mura japam  , large variety of vegetables   , none of which was  sufficient for any dish were  remaining  .Then Ramayyan Dalawai , from THirunelveli    invented Avial  .

   The recipe is very simple.Cut all vegetable in to thin long  pieces(In kerala potato is never used) .Boil  all of them together

A,To add  sour taste  three  methods  are in use

1.Add  Sour buttermilk   almost   at the end, just before seasoning,

2.Add  Raw cut mango along   with vegetables

3.Add thin   Tamarind extract(needs to be added  at the beginning) 

B.To add pungency   and thickness  , Ground  coconut   and green chillies

       1.In kerala avail is pungent   and is a main dish in Palakkad   iyer homes or it is a side dish to non pungent main dishes like Mulagootal.So it needs to be pungent. Red chillies   are not normally used  .The aroma  of avail  is due to  coconut oil  and green chilles

         2.In Tamil Nadu  it is a side dish   to pungent side dishes like Sambhar or  used instead of Chutney   to Ulundu adai.So very  little chillies are  added

c,  Seasoning

      1,Throughout Kerala raw   coconut oil  and curry leaves is used  for seasoning

      2,Raw  refined oil  can also   be used if coconut oil  is not available

     3.In Tamil Nadu  , Sometimes seasoning   with mustard , jeera   and oil   is mostly done.

My preferred  recipe

     1 Almost all vegetables  except potato  , onion, tomato , Pumpkin, Okra, , biter gourd  ,   and sweetpotato   are  used  in Kerala. The preferred  vegetables   are  Raw plantain, Yam(Chenai)  ash gourd  ,  drum  stick, snake gourd,and carrot   

2.I  understand   that   some of these  vegetables  are also used In tamil nadu and  the concept  of  preferred  vegetables   are  not very strict

I understand that the normal  recipe  In Kerala homes is

I.Recipe  in Kerala homes

Vegetables   -250 gm of vegetables

Turmeric powder 

Grated fresh coconut   1 ½  cups

Green chillies  5-8

Curds 3-4  teaspoons  (lightly sour/if not raw  mango pieces

Salt to taste

Curry leaves

Coconut oil

Cut vegetable in to thin pieces,Boil vegetables , till they are just cooked(Avoid overcooking) .

Grind coconut   and chillies  With very little water.

Add it to  cooked vegetables

If  raw mango is not there or idf tamarind extract is not added in the beginning, add sour curd and curry leaves.Season with coconut oil

II.Recipe  given by  Vinayaka caterers , cochin

 Aviyal

Needed materials

1.Yam (Elephant foot yam) 15 gm
2.Snake gourd 5 gm
Cucumber 5 gm
Carrot 10 gm
Drum stick 10 gm
Cow pea (Payar) 5 gm
3.Cooking Banana ½
4.Raw mango little
5.Coconut oil three teaspoons
6.Turmeric powder 1 teaspoon+pepper powder 1 tea spoon, needed salt
7. ½ coconut grated + 1 teaspoon jeera seeds + 10 gm green chillies
8.Curry leaves
9 coconut oil 3 tea spoons


Method

1.Cut yam in to thin 2 inch long pieces.Put them in water
2.Cut vegetables mentioned in s.no 2 and 3 in to long thin pieces and put in water.Put Cucumber separately.
3.Cut raw mango in to thin pieces
4.Heat oil mentioned in a thick bottomed broad vessel and put all cut vegetables one , one and Yam at the top.
5.Over Yam , you can put cucumber
6.Over the vegetablesput powders mentioned in 6
7.Heat them, closing with a heavy lid over a low fire.When it comes to boil stir it.
8.Once every thing is coked well, Make a crator like hole in the centre. Whatever water oozes out from the sides,It has to be poured on vegetables stacked on sides.
9.When all water has died, grind items mentioned in 7 loosely , and mix it with the vegetable along with curry leaf. Switch off the stove
10.Add oil mentioned in9

(Comment: from P.R.Ramachander  The sourness to Avial can also be got through, raw mango, sour curd or tamarind or a combination of any of them. We have tried Amchoor (dry raw mango powder) instead of mango. Though it is not as good , it does indeed taste like avail. Depending on the availability many other vegetables like Chow chow, Avarakkai , capsicum etc can also be used. In Kerala potato is never used in avial. In our part of Kerala, pepper powder is not used in avial.)

III. When I went  to am Iyer  come  In Trivandrum , I tasted   a very strange avial

Keerai avial

Cut red keerai

Drumsticks 3

Raw mango (100 gm)

Jack fruit seeds(Chakka  Kottai)   100 gm

Turmeric powder

Salt

Grated coconut

Jeera

Dried chillies

Coconut oil

Cut Keerai  and  mango in to long pieces, Add cut pieces  of Chakka kottai   and drum stick,After boiling , add   ground  coconut with fried red chillies  and jeera.Season with  coconut oil

( recently saw another recipe for Chakka kottai   avail   adding onion-http://vimithaa.blogspot.com/2013/09/chakka-kottai-aviyal-jackfruit-seeds.html

I also saw  a Jack fruit Avial https://www.kothiyavunu.com/2017/09/chakka-aviyal-jackfruit-aviyal.html, But  being in love with traditional  recipes  of Kerala , I did  not even read  them)