Avial, a mixed vegetable curry, is a simple recipe made even simpler thanks to the instant pot.
What is Avial?
If you’ve never heard of avial before, it’s a delicious veggie-packed recipe cooked in coconut oil and flavored with aromatic curry leaves. All the vegetables are coated in a sauce made with grated coconut and yogurt.
You can easily make this recipe dairy-free, paleo, whole30, or vegan by using coconut yogurt instead of regular yogurt – it’s a perfect substitute! I’ve tried this dish many times using regular yogurt and coconut yogurt, and trust me, it’s a winner either way.
The great thing about making avial in an instant pot is that you can cook all the vegetables together in the same amount of time, and they turn out perfectly. I love making this easy mixed vegetable dish whenever we have guests over – it always seems to impress friends who aren’t used to eating a variety of Indian vegetables. And that brings me to my next point…
What Vegetables to Use in Avial?
Avial is typically made with assorted vegetables such as unripe plantain, unripe green mango, carrots, green beans, cucumber, pumpkin, taro root, potatoes.
It’s also often made with moringa, which is better known as “drumstick.” If you use drumsticks in this recipe, you are to eat the soft pulpy inside and then discard the fibrous exterior – it’s similar to eating artichoke leaves.
You can find drumsticks and a variety of other Indian vegetables in the frozen aisle of any Indian grocery store. You can also find frozen unsweetened grated coconut at your local Indian store.
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to veggies, so feel free to use what you have/like.
“My first ever time making avial. Thank you, thank you, thank you for helping me make this. Never thought it could be this simple and more importantly it tasted so good. This is such a lifesaver!”
SA
Avial is a Must During Keralite festivals!
While you can (and should) make and enjoy avial any time, this dish is a must during special occasions or festivals. It’s always served during Onam, a big harvest festival, as part of the sadya, a vegetarian feast typically served on a banana leaf. Here’s a picture of my little family during Tony’s first Onam festival at the temple in Pittsburgh.
My husband (who is Keralite) considers avial to be his favorite vegetarian dish (he likes it even more than Green Bean Thoran, which is saying a lot). It’s a childhood favorite of his, so whenever I make it, it makes his day. Thankfully, the instant pot allows me to make his day pretty often. I hope you all love it as much as he does!
Instant Pot Avial (Kerala Mixed Vegetable Curry)
Instant Pot Avial (Kerala Mixed Vegetable Curry)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds*
- 30 curry leaves
- 4 cups assorted vegetables** cut lengthwise (2-inch long pieces)
- ½ cup grated coconut***
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 Serrano pepper or green chili slit in half but still intact
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ cup yogurt regular or dairy-free coconut yogurt works!
Instructions
- Press the sauté button then add the coconut oil. Once it melts, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the remaining ingredients to the pot except for the yogurt.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 4 minutes at high pressure.
- Open the valve to quick release the pressure.
- Stir in the yogurt and serve immediately or at room temperature.
Notes
- *You can leave the black mustard seeds out if you’d like. Some use black mustard seeds when making avial and some do not – I personally like the flavor so I use them but it’s not necessary.
- **This dish is typically made with assorted vegetables such as unripe plaintan, unripe green mango, carrots, green beans, cucumber, pumpkin, taro root, potatoes. It is also often made with moringa, which is better known as drumstick. If you use drumsticks in this recipe, you are to eat the inside and then discard the fibrous exterior. You can find drumsticks as well as a variety of other Indian vegetables in the frozen aisle of any Indian grocery store.
- ***Find frozen unsweetened grated coconut at your local Indian grocery store.
Deepthi says
Do we need to thaw the frozen veggies / coconut beforehand ?
Vidya says
Every time I make this for company, I get RAVE reviews!!!!! So easy to make, too. Thank you!
Aiith says
Sounds interesting..one quick question – can we reduce the time of cooking to say 1 min and leave it for natural release? TIA
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
I haven’t tried but it might work? If you experiment let us know!
gvsrinivasan says
can i apply the above recipe in presure cooker also. cfm
Michelle says
you mention frozen veg options at the end, can this be entirely frozen veggies and turn out well?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Michelle, yes! I would suggest using a good mix of frozen veg though. Let me know what you think when you try it 🙂
Priya Nair says
I have been singing your and your websites praises to evryone.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Priya! I appreciate that a lot 🙂
Priya Nair says
Thank you Ashley, you are a life saver. Kitchen renovations mean no kitchen for a month -The Instapot and your website has truly been a life saver. The aviyal, thoran, chicken curry have all turned out so well .
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Priya, it is tough being without a kitchen! I’m so glad you’ve been making and enjoying my recipes using your IP 🙂
Lakshmi says
Hi Ashley,
I absolutely love all your recipes but none as much as I did this avial. Growing up in Australia to two South Indian parents, I crave this food as an adult. It was a staple in our home. Your recipe was fool proof and absolutely delicious and perfect! I used desiccated coconut (as I didn’t have any fresh in the freezer). It was so good!! Can’t wait to make it for my mum!! Thank you so much xxx
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Lakshmi, I’m so glad to hear that! Glad you liked the avial so much 🙂 I hope your mom loves it just as much!
SA says
My first ever time making avial. Thank you, thank you, thank you for helping me make this. Never thought it could be this simple and more importantly it tasted so good. This is such a lifesaver!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
That’s so great to hear! Thank you for letting me know how much you like this avial recipe!
Ayra says
Hi Ashley, thanks for such a super quick yummy recipe! I have made this a few times, on a weeknight and as a side dish for a dinner party. The first time I used frozen avial mix and didn’t realise the mix had green chilli already, the double green chilli was too much for me! Read your about section today and had to comment, I’m Punjabi and my husband is Keralite as well! Keen to try your other recipes.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Ayra, I’m so glad to hear that you like this so much! Also, awesome to “meet” another Punjabi/Keralite couple! Hope you enjoy all the recipes you try 🙂
Anjali says
Delish, even without the mustard seeds, pepper and cumin!! I want to eat it everyday!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Anjali, that’s so great to hear! Glad you liked this 🙂
Preetha says
Hey, my husband and I tried this recipe yesterday. It’s super easy to make and it ended up looking exactly like the picture. It was on the mild side, though.I have to think about how we could make the taste pop more. But overall, a great dish and would certainly appeal to those who don’t eat a lot of spicy (or hot) foods. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Preetha, I’m so glad you tried and liked it! As for more heat, I’d suggest adding several more serrano peppers – that should do the trick 🙂
Sima says
This is a beautiful recipe. I’ve made it a few times now and always impresses. Thank u.
My Heart Beets says
Thank you, Sima! I’m so glad to hear that 🙂
Raj says
I made this twice and it worked out very well. I added plantains, tindora, frozen jackfruit, carrots, potatoes, green beans and suran. I also added drumsticks the first time, but that was not nice. Second time, I added a few whole black peppers, and I had the whole dish to myself :-(. I’ll be trying to make Pav Bhaji next.
It would be nice if your website had a section the described the vegetable and dals with pictures. For example, what does ‘Louki’ look like in the grocery store? What does Masoor dal look like vs Thoor dal. It would help avoid having to ask embarrassing questions to the grandma shoppers in the store.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Raj, I’m so glad you liked this! Hope you like the pav bhaji too. And that’s helpful feedback – I’m moving toward including videos for all recipes, which I hope will be helpful. I’ll try to go back through old posts and link to products or update with images if I can. Thanks!
Preeti says
Came out really well and in perfect texture.
My Heart Beets says
Preeti, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how this turned out for you 🙂
Gini says
Hi Ashley
I tried this with frozen aviyal mix, but the vegetables remained uncooked. Should I increase the cook time?
Thanks
My Heart Beets says
Hi Gini, I haven’t tried with frozen veggies but if you feel they’re uncooked, I’d add a minute or two to the cook time. I hope that helps!
ram says
Excellent recepie. I also tried some other instant pot recepies. Very good. A big thanks!
My Heart Beets says
Ram, I’m so glad you tried and liked this recipe 🙂
Cassandra says
I’ve made this exactly following the recipe and really enjoyed it! With the current pandemic and being under a shelter in place order, we are now stuck with only bags of frozen vegetables and nothing fresh and interesting like plantains and curry leaves. I went ahead and made this anyway with 4 cups of frozen mixed veggies, worried that it would make my taste buds sad, yet desperate to try to make the veggies more palatable. It turned out pretty good! Thank you for a wonderful recipe that is easily adaptable to the sad stuff in my freezer!
My Heart Beets says
Cassandra, I’m so glad you liked this! If you’re looking for another veggie dish that would be good with frozen veggies (and potatoes), try my Kerala vegetable stew 🙂 I know these are crazy times.
Robert says
Hi Ashley,
I can’t seem to find black mustard seeds, but
will brown mustard seeds work instead?
Thanks,
Robert
My Heart Beets says
Hi Robert, yes brown works! 🙂
Anita Mehta says
This came out so well. Thank you Ashley for posting easy to follow recipes. Can thisbdish be doubled, tripled for a party? How will the cooking time change?
My Heart Beets says
Thanks Anita! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 I haven’t tried doubling or tripling the recipe but I’m sure it’ll be just fine if you do. When I double a recipe I double the ingredients but keep the cook time the same (the pot makes up for the additional ingredients by taking longer to build pressure). Hope that helps!
Minnie G says
I am also Keralite but never tried making avial until now because I thought it would be too difficult and wouldn’t taste right. Your recipe produced an easy to make and delicious dish. My family loved it and I am thrilled to add it to my dinner rotation. Can’t wait to make it for my mom and dad. Thanks so much. 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Minnie, I’m so happy you made and liked this!! I hope your parents love it too when you make it for them 🙂
Ramya Sundararajan says
Omg Ashley, your Avial looks incredible. I am a newbie to Instant pots, this recipe was easy and I can’t wait to for the veggies to cool down so I can add the yogurt. Thanks for sharing the recipe. You rock lady!!!!
My Heart Beets says
Ramya, thank you!! I’m so glad you found it to be really easy!!
Sonya says
Hello
Is grated coconut from freezer different to shredded coconut you find in the baking aisle?
Thanks
My Heart Beets says
Frozen is just fresh coconut that has been frozen whereas the kind you’ll find in the baking aisle has likely been dried/dehydrated. I prefer frozen but either works!
Enakshi says
There was an aunty who whenever she would make Avial, would send some over as she knew I absolutely love this dish – one of my special memories that I hold very dear to my heart – when I saw this recipe, i thought i would try it and see if it comes close! I made it for some guests when I made this for the first time using your recipe and it was a hit! I now make this at least twice a month! Thank you Ashley for bringing my childhood memory alive again!
My Heart Beets says
This makes me so happy to hear! I am so glad you like the avial so much and that it brings back happy memories! <3
Michelle says
I just have to tell you, all of your recipes are becoming staples in our house! Thank you!!
My Heart Beets says
Michelle, that makes me so happy to hear!! 🙂
Meera says
Ashley, you really gave me the courage to try my favorite in instant pot. It came out awesome. No one could tell that it was made in instant pot.
I made few changes- didn’t splutter mustard, ground coconut with cumin and added it in the end after pressure cooking ( in sauté mode as it had some water). I usually add Indian store frozen mango ( daily delight brand) or bit of tamarind along while cooking vegetables which I did this time as well. And in the end just before turning off, added a little yogurt somehow I like that texture after adding yogurt.
My Heart Beets says
Meera, that is awesome!! I’m so glad you made it – thanks for sharing the changes! I’ll have to try adding frozen mango some time – that sounds delicious! Also, I love the daily delight brand too lol.
Heather McLay says
Purple potatoes, purple carrots, mango, banana, string beans. This was so good. I loved it and I am about to make it again. I have never tasted anything like it. Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Heather, that’s so great to hear! I’m so glad you made it and loved it!
Nida says
Such a different flavour from the usual veges I make. Love that it doesn’t involve the usual onions and tomatoes. And so quick to make!
My Heart Beets says
Nida, so happy to hear that you liked it! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Holly W. says
I can see why this is considered a special occasion or festival dish! I just finished making this with purple potato (probably not the correct name), carrots, plantains, green beans, and coconut yogurt. The aromas and flavors seem truly gourmet! My boyfriend’s mom made avial frequently as he was growing up in India, so I will be eager to see how this version compares…I have a feeling he will rave about it. 🙂
My Heart Beets says
So happy to hear that! Let me know what he thinks – would love to hear! 🙂
Holly W. says
Nitin declared, “It’s awesome! Where did you get the recipe?” I have a feeling this will be a staple for us. 😀
My Heart Beets says
So happy to hear that!! 🙂
Maneesha says
What a tasty dish, and the instant pot makes it so quick and easy to make this! I love experimenting with different cuisines and especially different Indian cuisines, and this was amazing! Thanks so much, Ashley!
My Heart Beets says
Maneesha, so happy you made and liked the avial!! 🙂