Avial

Avial is one of the popular dishes of Kerala and Tamilnadu. Its mandatory and  part of Sadya preparation , a feast during Onam festival.
  Its one of my favourites and can be classified as positively pranic for the body as it has white pumpkin and does not have onion.
Since most of the veggies used in this dish are asian,finding them all together in indian grocery stores is very rare. I have made it with frozen veggies got from indian shop.

Ingredients:
Avial vegetables- 500 gms
(white pumpkin,plaintain, yam,cucumber,Drumstick,carrot,beans)
Turmeric-1/4 tsp
Grated coconut-5 tbsp
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Green chillies-2-3 nos
Beaten yoghurt or buttermilk- 1 cup.

For Tempering:
Coconut oil-1 tbsp
Curry leaves-a sprig

Method:
   In a hot pan, add oil ,temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves, add the frozen vegetables. Normally in india we used to pressurecook the vegetables with turmeric and salt as they can be got fresh. Add a ground paste of coconut,cumin seeds and green chillies and adjust salt till done. Once done turn the stove off and add buttermilk or beaten yoghurt. Serve hot with rice.

Mixed Vegetables Curry

I brought some frozen Undhiyo vegetables from an indian shop and was wondering what to do with them.Here in melbourne we don't get indian eggplants quite easily.We get them in Asian grocery shops or indian shops if we are lucky.This curry is a type of ready made curry which can be done quite fast if we have all the ready made stuff at home.
UNDHIYO VEGETABLES TAMARIND CURRY:
Ingredients:
Undhiyo vegetables(frozen)-1 packet
(Indian brinjals,Indian broad beans,Yam,Raw Plantain,baby potatoes)
Onion-1 no(Big-chopped medium size)
Tomato-2(Medium size).
Turmeric-a pinch
Red chilli powder or Sambhar powder-2 tsp
Coriander powder-3 tsp
Tamarind-a lemon size(extract juice by adding water)
Salt to taste


For Tempering:
Cumin seeds-1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
Curry leaves-a bunch
For Garnishing:
Coriander leaves
Method:
In a hot kadai,add oil.When the oil is medium hot add cumin seeds,mustard seeds and curry leaves.After the mustard seeds splutter add onions and fry them till they are translucent.
Now add the tomatoes and fry for a while.Add the undhiyo vegetables,red chilli powder,turmeric and coriander powder.Mix well and cook till the vegetables are half cooked say abt 5 minutes.Now add the tamarind extract and allow the vegetables to completely cook till the curry attains a semigravy consistency.Garnish with coriander leaves and curry leaves.Serve hot with rice and Papad.