Avial

The middle of a sadya leaf, between the thoran and the olan. Ash gourd, raw banana, drumstick, yam and beans, all cut into thick fingers of the same size so they finish together, cooked in barely a cup of water. The coconut paste goes in at the end and holds everything without hiding it. Then the pan comes off the flame, oil goes over the top, curry leaves go in, and the lid goes on for five minutes.

That last step is the whole dish. Two spoons of wooden cold pressed coconut oil, poured over raw and never heated. Ours is pressed from copra in a slow wooden ghaani, so it holds its sweet coconut smell, and here it does no cooking at all. It sits on the hot vegetables, warms through, and when you lift the lid the smell that comes up is what tells you this is avial and not a mixed vegetable curry.

The one thing that decides avial is that you stop stirring. Once the vegetables are in, shake the pan or turn things over with a flat spoon, lifting rather than mixing. Avial is meant to be whole distinct pieces in a coarse paste. Stir it like a curry and in two minutes you have a mash.

How to make it

1. Cut every vegetable into thick fingers of roughly the same size, about 2 inches long and as thick as a chip. Even sizing is what lets everything finish together. Keep the raw banana in water so it does not darken.
2. Grind the coconut, cumin and green chillies with 3 tbsp water to a coarse paste. Stop while it still has texture. A smooth paste makes the avial pasty.
3. In a wide, heavy pan, put the yam, drumstick, carrot and beans with the turmeric, salt and 1 cup water. Cover and cook on medium for 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Add the ash gourd and drained raw banana. Cover and cook another 5 to 6 minutes, until everything is tender enough to break under a spoon but still holding its shape. Most of the water should have gone.
5. Add the coconut paste and fold it through with a flat spoon, lifting rather than stirring. Cook uncovered on low for 4 to 5 minutes until the raw smell of the coconut goes.
6. Lower the flame right down. Add the whisked curd and mix in gently. Let it warm through for 1 minute only. Do not let it boil after this, or the curd will split.
7. Switch off the flame. Pour the 2 tbsp raw coconut oil over the top and scatter the curry leaves in.
8. Cover at once and leave it for 5 minutes so the oil and curry leaf aroma soak in. Serve warm with rice, or as part of a sadya.

Tips

• The fix for the commonest mistake: mushy avial. Add vegetables in order of how long they take, keep the water low and never stir with a round spoon. If a batch does go soft, serve it as a thick side rather than trying to save the shapes.
• Curd or raw mango? Kerala homes are divided. Central Travancore avial uses sour curd, many Palakkad and Tamil Nadu kitchens use raw mango pieces cooked with the vegetables instead. Use curd for the creamier version and raw mango for a sharper, vegan one. Never use both.
• Storage: keeps 1 day in the fridge. Reheat very gently on low, and add a fresh half spoon of raw coconut oil before serving to bring the smell back.
• Use whatever is in the house. Pumpkin, snake gourd, cucumber, potato and long beans all belong. Avoid strongly flavoured vegetables like brinjal and capsicum.
• Do not heat the finishing coconut oil. Raw is the point. Heating it changes the smell completely.