Onam 2022: Best Avial recipe for Onam Sadya

Onam 2022 is a festival that commemorates the homecoming of King Mahabali. One of the most important festivals of Kerala, this year, the 10-day is concluding on Thursday, September 8. One of the highlights of Onam celebrations in Kerala is the Onam Sadya, an elaborate meal. A multi course vegetarian meal, a total of 24 dishes are featured on a banana leaf, all of which together form the Onam Sadya.

The 24 dishes that are prepared and served in Onam Sadya include Kaaya varuthatha (banana chips), sarkara upperi (Jaggery coated banana chips), chena varuthatha (yam chips), kichadi (Gourd in mildly spiced yoghurt), pachadi (Pineapple in yoghurt) , mango pickle, lime pickle, puli inji (tamarind & ginger chutney), olan ( ash gourd with black beans in a coconut milk gravy), avial, puliserry (yogurt based curry), kootu curry (black chickpeas curry), stir-fried vegetables with grated coconut, theeyal (mixed vegetable gravy), erissery (mashed beans and pumpkin with coconut gravy), sambar, rasam, spicy buttermilk, bananas, papad and boiled rice. In this article, we bring you an easy and authentic recipe of how to cook Availa at home. Follow the recipe step by step, here:

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Ingredients
Veggies: One cup each of white pumpkin, pumpkin, drumsticks, elephant foot yam (suran), Mangalore cucumber, raw unripe banana. Along with this, use half-a-cup of french beans.

For coconut paste: 
1 cup of fresh grated coconut
2 to 3 green chilies
1 teaspoon jeera
⅓ to ½ cup water (for grinding)

Other Ingredients:
1 cup water, for cooking veggies
1 cup beaten curd
12 to 15 curry leaves
1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil

Preparation:

•    Rinse the vegetables and drain all the water.
•    Peel and chop the vegetables to in medium to long thick sticks. Keep them aside.
•    When you chop the unripped bananas, immerse them in a bowl of water to save them from turning dark.
•    Beat a cup of yogur and keep it aside.

Making Coconut Paste: For the coconut paster, put all the ingredients in your mixes pot, and little quantity of water and grind it until you get a smooth paste.

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Cooking Vegetables:

•    Put all the vegetables together (or based on how fast/slow they cook) in a pot.
•    Now, add ½ teaspoon turmeric and salt as per taste.
•    Add a cup of water and stir it well.
•    Cover the pan and keep the flame to medium.
•    Keep checking for the water. In case if the water is less, keep adding more to it. Simmer all the vegetables till they are almost cooked.
•    

Making Avial:

•    Add the coconut paste to the vegetables and mix it gently.
•    Let it simmer for some five to seven minutes or till the vegetables are completely cooked. If the mixture becomes dry, add water to it.
•    Reduce the flame to low when all the veggies are cooked and softened. Now, add the beaten curd. Give it a gentle mix and let it simmer for a minute, after which, switch off the flame.
•    Add 1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil.
•    Add the curry leaves and give it a mix. Cover the pot for five minutes and let the flavours infuse.

Your Avial is now ready! Serve it with steamed rice, pickle, papadums and kerala sambar.

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• Onam
• Onam 2022
• Onam Sadya
• Avial