Traditional Vegetable Avial Recipe

Avial (Aviyal) is a traditional South Indian dish made with mixed vegetables, curd,  coconut, and mild spices. It is popular in Kerala and Tamil Nadu cuisine and is naturally rich in fiber, vitamins, and plant nutrients.

Health benefits of traditional avial:

• It is rich in fiber as it contains many vegetables that support digestion.
• Good for weight management due to high fiber vegetables and less oil
• It supplies potassium and supports heart health.
• It contains vegetables that are anti inflammatory!
• It is a well balanced vegetarian dish that is gut friendly.

Ingredients:

1. Carrots – 1 cup, cut into strips
2. Green beans – 1 cup, cut into pieces
3. Cucumber – 1 cup
4. Raw banana – 1 cup, sliced
5. Ash gourd or bottle gourd – 1 cup, sliced
6. Yam or potato – ½ cup, cubed
7. Drumstick – 1 piece (optional)
8. Turmeric powder – ½ tsp (optional)
9. Salt – as needed
10. Plain curd – ½ cup
11. Coconut oil – 1 Tbsp
12. Curry leaves – few
13. Asafetida/hing – pinch
14. Fresh grated coconut – 1 cup
15. Green chilies – 2 to 3
16. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Preparation:

1. Cook all vegetables with salt, and a little water until tender. Do not overcook the vegetables. If you are adding drumstick, cook drumstick separately and add to rest of the cooked vegetables at the end.
2. Grind grated coconut, green chilies, hing and cumin seeds into a coarse paste.
3. Add the coconut paste to the cooked vegetables and simmer for 2–3 minutes.
4. Reduce heat and add beaten curd. Do not boil after adding curd. Boiling avial after adding curd spoils the texture.
5. You can season with mustard using coconut oil and curry leaves.
6. Serve warm with white rice, bisibelebath, puliyogare, millet, or quinoa.

Do you know? You can also make vegan avial by replacing curd with thick coconut milk or plant-based curd.

Image credit: Created using AI Gemini 6-5-2026