Aviyal - Microwave Easy Cooking

Before going to the recipe, I just wanted to remind that last date to submit entries for the Easy Microwave Cooking - Fresh Produce is 31st of this month. Keep sending the entries. You have an idea about the regional cuisines of India if 1. you are an enthusiastic foodie who is interested / would try different regional cuisines. 2. you/your family members have lived through various parts of the country or you have friends who represent different states. 3. you have travelled extensively. 4. you spend whatever free time you have in front of a computer going through food related sites. 5. you keep buying/borrowing Indian cook books. And for zillion other reasons. :) There are as many regional cuisines as the number of states in the country and so, it was and still is hard for Indians to be familiar with all the regional cuisines unless for any of those things mentioned above. My mother, like most of the Indian women of her times, has never thought of a computer while cooking or has owned a cookbook till date. She cooked using the knowledge she gained from her mother, other family members & friends and from the recipes in the magazines that caught her attention and most importantly, the expertise she gained from almost 4 decades of cooking. In the process, however she gave prominence only to the regional cooking (and that is the case with many of our Mothers.) My parents who were from Andhra, settled in Karnataka and were tenants of a Tamil Iyer family when they were newly weds. My mom therefore soon learnt the cooking ways of the three states but never got a chance to know about Kerala cuisine. Growing up, I was therefore not familiar with Kerala's cuisine as much as I was with the rest of the South Indian states. Once, however I had a glass of a kheer at a Malayali classmate's home which I could not forget till now. The yellow puree was so fabulous that even a shy kid like me couldn't stop from asking for a second serving shamelessly. I was just a fourth grader then and didn't bother to ask what it was or for the recipe. So bad. :( :( I have started to pay more attention towards other blogs after I started blogging and I should say it is a kind of new experience knowing about the rich and varied Indian cuisines and culture. I had tried earlier a few from other states and it is time to turn towards the southern , coastal state of Kerala. The first time I tasted aviyal was at M's niece's wedding, a dozen years ago. I liked it but didn't bother about asking the recipe since I was not that much into cooking then. I later learned that Aviyal is usually one of the items present in a Kerala Sadhya - The feast. Aviyal- basically an assortment of vegetables in a mixture of coconut and yogurt is popular both in Kerala and Tamilnadu, because of it's proximity to the region. I followed the recipe which I got from one of M's SIL who has some Tamilnadu - Kerala background. I absolutely loved the aviyal with sweet undertones of coconut and yogurt since those two happen to be my most favorite things. However I have omitted the coconut oil seasoning part since we are not used to cooking with that oil. It is too much over powering when you are not used to coconut oil. I know how some feel about our avakai , gongura pickles. :) Ingredients I used: Beans, carrots, winter melon, plantain, potato, peas - 2 cups (Some of the other vegetables suggested were yams, cluster beans, drum sticks and even bittergourd can be used. Avoid sticky vegetables like okra) yogurt 1/2 cup (reduce the quantity if you wish. I added more since I love yogurt) 4 green chillies 1/2 c fresh coconut salt, curry leaves Cooking: . Cut the vegetables into thick, match stick size strips. Cook with little water in a microwave till done. (The original recipe had turmeric which I didn't use. If using, add turmeric to the veggies while cooking.) . Meanwhile, grind the coconut and green chillies in a blender. Add the coconut mixture, few curry leaves and salt to the cooked vegetables and cook for another 3 -4 minutes in the microwave. . The original recipe requires to add the yogurt to the vegetable mixture and heat lightly. Instead, I cooled the mixture and added the yogurt to prevent curdling. It stayed fresh, refrigerated for two days. I had them with my rotis. This is going to be a part of the Easy Microwave Cooking - Fresh Produce, guest hosted by me this month and Srivalli, being the event creator. Comments