Avial – South Indian Veggie Coconut Curry. Seasonal Vegetables in easy spiced Coconut sauce. Serve over rice, flatbread or dosa crepes. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Recipe. Jump to Recipe
Avial is a popular Veggie dish served as a side during celebrations or served with rice or flatbreads for everyday meals. The lightly seasoned coconut sauce is an amazing carrier for the many vegetables. It is often made with five or more veggies that are local and seasonal. Depending on the vegetables used, the cooking is adjusted by adding veggies at different points to avoid overcooking. Some veggies are fully cooked while others just al dente to retain some texture and avoiding a veggie mash.
The sauce is a simple blend of coconut, cumin and green chilies. The fresh chilies and fresh coconut are a match made in flavor heaven. If you cannot find fresh grated coconut, use dried. The simple tempering of mustard seeds with curry leaves is a must.
Avial originated in South India and is common dish in Keralan cuisine. It also has variations based on families and other region versions. This is a simple version based on the home cooked Avial I had in Bangalore long long ago. I remember wondering what to do with the drumsticks (the vegetable) :). Drumsticks are seed pods of the Moringa tree and used in many stewy dishes. There are videos on youtube(of course) on how to prep them and also how to eat!
I use the vegetables that are more easily available here. Use whichever veggies you have in this delicious coconut sauce!
More Southern Indian fare to try from the blog
- Eggplant Sambar (split pea stew) in IP.
- Green Bean, Carrot Poriyal – Green beans coconut carrot stir fry.
- Easy Instant Dosa Crepes with Coconut chutney and Masala potatoes. GF option
- Chickpeas in peppery curry leaf coconut sauce.
- Bisi Bele Bath Pressure Cooker Split Pea Brown Rice Soup
- Okra Kuzambu – Okra in tamarind coconut sauce.
- Chickpea sundal – Chickpea Coconut warm salad.
Southern Indian cuisine often uses specific ingredients that are not as easily available in regular stores and might need a trip to the Indian store. Curry leaves have nothing to do with curry powder, they are a vibrant flavored leaf used in seasoning like bay leaves. Fresh curry leaves are amazing in this recipe. You can get a batch and freeze them in a ziplock and use directly from the freezer, they behave close to fresh. You can also use dried curry leaves that are easier to find in online stores.
Fresh grated coconut also can be found in Indian stores, often in the frozen section. You can also shred your own fresh coconut :). Put the fresh coconut through an Indian grater or a food processor. I use either the pre grated frozen version or dried coconut in a pinch. This is a simple recipe with few ingredients, don’t let the instructions which have lots of tips deter you!
If you make this South Indian Curry, Do let me know in the comments how it worked out! 
Recipe Card
Avial - South Indian Veggie Coconut Curry
Ingredients
Veggies:
- 2.5 to 3 cups (120 g) chopped vegetables such as potato, white pumpkin, carrots, green beans, summer squash, indian local squash, drumsticks(moringa tree pods), raw banana/plantain etc
- dash of salt and turmeric
Coconut Sauce:
- 1/2 cup (40 g) shredded coconut , fresh or dried
- 1 green chili 2 for hotter
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) turmeric
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) cumin seeds or ground cumin
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) water
Tempering:
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) mustard seeds
- 1 green chili chopped
- 7 to 8 curry leaves
Instructions
- Cube the vegetables to about similar size. Add to a bowl and toss in a good dash of salt and turmeric.
- Cook the veggies: Steam the veggies for 15 to 20 minutes in a steamer or until cooked. Or add to a saucepan with 1/2 cup water, cover and cook over medium heat for 12 to 15 mins. Or add to a Pressure cooker/Instant Pot with 1/2 cup water and pressure cook for 2 mins, release naturally. (for quicker cooking vegetables like raw plantain, cook the separately if needed to avoid mush, or add to the saucepan half way through).
- Blend the coconut, green chilies, spices and water to make a coarse mixture . The chilies and cumin should have blended. (If using dried coconut, blend for 30 seconds, then let the mixture sit for 5 mins to rehydrate, then blend again for 30 seconds to a min. Blend longer for smoother sauce).
- Add the blended mixture to the cooked veggies and bring to boil over medium heat. (on saute if using Instant Pot). Take off heat. (You can add 1/4 cup non dairy yogurt or 1 tsp tamarind paste with the coconut mixture for a sour profile). Taste and adjust salt, heat, flavor. Add more water if needed.
- Make the tempering: Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds carefully and wait for them to start to sputter. Add the green chilies and curry leaves and mix for a few seconds. Then take off heat.
- Add the tempering to the veggies and serve hot with flatbread, rice, dosa, or adai.
Notes
Nutrition
Mae
Made this for dinner last night. Yummy! And easy. I used potatoes and carrots. I used almond milk instead of water, and toasted the coconut first. Also added some fresh ginger to the sauce. Served with basmati rice 😋
Vegan Richa Support
sounds great Mae
Becci
This looks yummy, would I be able to use canned coconut milk instead of the fresh/dried coconut and water?
Ashley Joyce
Delicious!
Richa
Thanks!
Emily Hogan
I just Ioved the coconut sauce, however once I added it to the veggies the sauce ended up tasting very floury and ruined the whole dish. Any suggestions on what to do there? I couldn’t seem to bring it back from that.
Richa
I am not sure why it would taste floury. Did you change any ingredients?
ishika singh
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Vegan Richa Support
it’s true. thank you!
Janae
This looks delicious and I’m putting it on my recipes to try list! I have a question, when a recipe calls for chopped green chili can I use canned chopped green chilies like Ortega or is it not the same? Thanks
Vegan Richa Support
Hello there! Thank you! Canned chiles will change the flavor of the dish. I recommend using 1 Tbsp diced green bell pepper or just omit it all together. Let me know if you need any more help! 🙂
Janae
What kind of green chili do you use, is it like a pablono or Thai? I’m just not so familiar with peppers other then bell, lol. Thanks so much!
Richa
Serano or Thai
jasmine
i love this website so much…
Vegan Richa Support
thank you kindly
Keren
So simple and delicious, thanks Richa.
Lou
Hi,
I made this last night for supper and really enjoyed it. It really is a fantastic weeknight dinner that’s ready in no time but still tastes so good! I used fresh coconut but too lazy to shred it so put chunks in and couldn’t blend it smooth, was worried as my husband does not like coconut at all but even he enjoyed it! It will probably be better if I could get the sauce smoother but the taste was still there! Thanks Richa for all the great recipes.
Richa
oh fresh coconut is awesome in it. You probably want to use processor or grinder to just grind the coconut first.
arj
Yum! This came together so easily! Thank you for the easy-to-follow directions. I like the flexibility to add whatever veggies we like or have on hand. I never thought I could make something with such delicious flavors! Since it’s a more mild and sweet-tasting dish, I also made one of your more savory and spicy eggplant dishes to go along with it (baingan aloo). We ate both with rice.
Richa
awesome!
Ramaa
Tempering with mustardseeds is not DONE for Avial
Most keralite dishes have a finishing touch of adding aspoobful if fresh coconut oil to the Hot dish, and one could skip the process if not used to the flavour or just add some heated oil of ones choice.mustard not necessary but then Hey, you Are creating New Dishes so choose name too!
In most Kerala homes, jeera is not used on order to differentiate this dish with other similar dishes
They really believe in minimal ingredients and depend on the freshness of the vegetables and the Process for that flavour
Richa
Thank you Ramaa. I picked up the recipe from my roommate who was from chennai and its a quicker version of the recipe she would usually make. I do mention its my adapted version for this reason and not a particular region specific avial. I am guessing my roommate made changes to the recipe she learn from her mom too, who could have added her own changes. For that reason i do not mention a particular region specific avial. for eg, my mums punjabi chole method has changed significantly over the years. What i learnt from her decades ago is not what she cooks anymore. If i picked the recipe from her now, then thats what i would call chole.
Nikki
This was so simple and delicious! Thank you for sharing such lovely flavorful vegan recipes!!
Richa
yay!
kristine davis
Simple and delicious! I have a curry tree that needed to be trimmed. This was the perfect recipe to use the leaves on. Thanks!
Richa
awesome! so jealous youhave a curry tree!
Upasana Malhotra
Richa: What are some of the vegetables you used in your recipe:
White Pumpkin?
Summer squash
Indian Local Squash
Richa
they might have different names depending on region.
Winter melon is white pumpkin.
summer squashes are yellow.
any of the local squashes like chayote can be used as well.
some squashes are tropical and not easily available herer (in the US).So I use a combination of whichever veggies are seasonal and available at the time.
Jill
Do you have a recipe for the pictured bread? 🙏
Richa
its similar to this recipe with some rice flour and all purpose flour with the chickpea flour https://www.veganricha.com/recipe-pages/vegan-chickpea-flour-pancakes
Tracy
Made this for dinner last night and it was ready in less than 30 minutes. Love that! I steamed my veggie mixture in the IP for 4 minutes using broth, not just water. Meanwhile, made the tempering on the stove. Turned out really delicious, will definitely make again.
Richa
Awesome!
Edna Oneal
So good and easy. I didn’t believe it would be a 30-minute meal, but it was! Including the chopping! Great flavors and keeps well for leftovers, too.
Richa
awesome!
Jody
This recipe was ok. We’re huge fans of avial, so were really looking forward to it. The recipe came out more like thoran. I used dried coconut with a Vitamix. Even after adding extra water and letting it sit, I couldn’t get it to blend up smooth. I added it anyway and flavorwise it is good, just not the creamy avial we are used to.
Last week we made your Turkish lentil soup though and it was amazing.
Richa
hmm maybe soak the coconut in hot water before blending. Also add more water if needed for a smooth sauce. Avial usually uses fresh coconut which blends easily. I use dried when i am out of fresh(which is often). I use the small shredded dried which blends up pretty smooth. Older coconut shreds or larger will take longer to blend smooth. it probably also depends onthe blender.
Richa
also the veggies leak a lot of moisture so I am conservative on the liquid added. Adjust that to preference.
Restaurant
Hey this South Indian Veggie Coconut Curry looking so yummy, we will try this at our restaurant in Brampton. Will let you know the feedback later. Cheers for nice info.
Cassie Thuvan Tran
I remember trying this curry at a diwali and fell in love with it! Does the picture depict one serving of the curry? Thanks!
Richa
yes
Helen Portas
Love the look of the flatbread! Do you have a recipe for it on your site?
Richa
It is a variation of these flatbreads made with lentil batter. i added a few tbsp of flour. https://www.veganricha.com/2013/07/split-mung-bean-stew-yellow-mung-dal.html
Sherry
I have a bag of frozen drumsticks from my local Indian grocer. Do you think I should thaw them first, or pre cook and add at the end? Thank you, this looks amazing!
Richa
drumsticks will take about the same time as potatoes, so thaw slightly and add with the potato or similar veggie set to cook whichever way you plan to.
Babu
I thought you are supposed to use yogurt in a vial?
Richa
its made both ways. i mention yogurt(non dairy yogurt) to add as an option
Dawn English
what crepe is pictured in newest post w potato curry? recipe?
Richa
Havent posted it yet. Its a variation of the tortilla crepe here https://www.veganricha.com/2013/10/chickpea-cauliflower-tacos-with-lentil.html
Elaine
Your veggies include: drumstick???
Richa
the vegetable. Drumsticks are seed pods of the moringa tree. They look like okra and are used a lot in south Indian cuisine. Use any other veggie. Also vegan blog, so obviously it doesn’t mean chikin drumstick. I mention that on the post write up, see above