Aviyal - Steamed Vegetables in Coconut Yogurt Creamy Gravy

Aviyal is a delightful mix of all vegetables in a creamy yogurt sauce. Its a very traditional dish and mostly served in many marriages in South India. This has been one of my favourites since childhood and I very often make this at home too.Though i made this Aviyal many times, I cannot even come nearer to the version which my mom makes it till today.!!! Its very easy to make this Aviyal with an excellent taste and flavour and its equally easier to spoil the aviyal as well. To my knowledge, if the grinding mixture is of correct consistency and the vegetables are steamed to the right level, then the Aviyal is heavenly with any rice. If any of the things get wrong in the middle, then the aviyal will not be as expected. Also, i prefer to make aviyal with fresh curd only and not with sour curd. I have not added Drumsticks to the aviyal today as I don't have it at home. But drumsticks contribute more to the aviyal flavour. So, try to add atleast few drumsticks to the aviyal if you have it in abundance.

Ingredients
For Grinding
Fresh Thick Curd - 1 Cup
Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1\2 cup
Jeera - 2 tsp
Ginger - 1 Small square
Green chillies - 4 Medium
Vegetables
Carrot - 1 Medium
Potato - 3 Medium
Chow Chow - 1 Medium
Zuccini - 1 Big
Raw Banana - 1 Big
Brinjal - 2 Big
Broad Beans \ Avaraikai \ Chikkukai - 8 to 10
White Pumpkin - 1 Small portion
Tempering
Olive Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 stem
Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp
Method

1. Grind the ingredients as mentioned above into a smooth creamy paste. While grinding, add little curd only to the mixture and keep the remaining curd aside which can be added to the aviyal at the end.
2. Wash all the vegetables first and cut them into desired shapes equally. Let the pieces be not too small.
3. On a thick bottomed vessel, first place the hard vegetables at the bottom and place the other watery vegetables on top one by one.
4. Add little water and little salt into it and let the vegetables get cooked and steamed for few minutes.
5. After its cooked fully, add the grounded mixture and required amount of salt into the vessel and mix them well. Let the aviyal cook for another 2 minutes.
6. Then, add oil in a tempering pan and add the ingredients as mentioned above to the heated oil. When it sputters, pour them over the Aviyal.
7. Add the remaining curd \ yogurt into the aviyal, mix them well and switch off the heat.

Variations

You can add few drops of coconut oil to the aviyal at the end.

You can add any vegetables of your choice in the aviyal.

You can add more green chillies to make the aviyal more spicy.

Tips

Don't overcook the vegetables and make it more pasty.

Don't add sour curd \ yogurt into the aviyal which adds more sourness to the aviyal.