Ingredients:

Avial is a traditional and popular vegetarian dish from Kerala, India. It is a thick stew made with a combination of vegetables, coconut, and curry leaves. The dish usually contains 13 vegetables commonly found in the Western Ghats region of India, such as ash gourd, pumpkin, drumsticks, elephant foot yam, mangalore cucumber, snake gourd, and green beans. The vegetables are cooked with turmeric powder, water, and salt, and then mixed with a coarse paste of coconut, green chillies, and cumin seeds. The dish is finished with a tempering of coconut oil and curry leaves

• 1 cup chopped ash gourd (white pumpkin, winter melon)
• 1 cup chopped pumpkin
• 1 cup chopped drumsticks or 1 to 2 drumsticks (moringa pods)
• 1 cup chopped elephant foot yam (suran)
• 1 cup chopped mangalore cucumber (field marrow, madras cucumber)
• 1 cup chopped snake gourd (padavalanga)
• 1 small carrot, chopped
• 4 green chillies
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup curd
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Peel and cut the vegetables into 2-inch long pieces.
2. Cook the vegetables with turmeric powder, water (1.5 cups), and salt.
3. Grind coconut, green chillies, and cumin seeds into a coarse paste with little water.
4. Add the ground paste to the cooked vegetables and mix well.
5. Cover and cook till the veggies are done and the raw taste of coconut paste is gone.
6. Add curd and mix well.
7. Cook for 1-2 minutes more and just before removing from the gas, add the coconut oil and curry leaves.

Serve hot with rice or roti.