Avial

Ingredients:
Vegetables – cut into inch-long pieces
Coconut – grated
Shallots
Garlic – one clove (optional)
Green chillies
Curd
Cumin seeds
Chilli powder
Turmeric powder
Salt
Sugar (optional)
Oil – 1 tablespoon
Curry leaves

Method:

Boil the vegetables with chilli powder and turmeric powder. When they are half done, add the salt.

Grind the grated coconut, shallots, green chillies, garlic, cumin seeds and curd into a coarse paste.

Add the paste to the vegetables and bring it to a boil. Take off the stove.
Add oil and curry leaves.

Postscript:
1. We used carrot, long beans, frenc beans, melons, ash gourd, yam and raw plantain. You can also use drumsticks, beetroot and bitter gourd. Boil the yams separately as they are tougher to cook than the other vegetables.
2. Usually curd is not added along with the ingredients that need to be ground. The procedure is usually: boil vegetables with chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt – add ground paste – add curd – bring it to a boil – take it off stove - add oil and curry leaves.
3. Most people don’t use garlic in avial.