Tag Archives: mixed vegetables

Creamy Mixed Vegetables

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Vegetables in a Cream Sauce1
Have you ever wished you had asked your mom how she made your favorite dish? Have you stood beside her in the kitchen and watched her cook? I’ve heard many people say, “I wish I had asked my mom how to make. . .” Your mom, dad, sister, brother, in-laws, aunts, whoever it is that cooks in your family, love to be asked. Now is the time!

I still have recipes that my mom sent me by snail mail. I treasure the recipes my family has shared with me. One of the reasons why I blog is because I want my family and you to have the recipes that I’ve collected for many years. Don’t be afraid to share. Someone dear to me once said, “Maggie, the more you share, the more you will learn.” Those words couldn’t be more true and they have stood the test of time.

You can use any combination of mixed vegetables in this recipe. Dry fenugreek leaves can be purchased at your local Indian grocery store. They taste similar to a combination of celery and fennel with a slightly bitter bite. Crumble the leaves with your fingers before you add them. Don’t skip this ingredient as it definitely adds another dimension to this dish.

Creamy Mixed Vegetables
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serve: 4

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tomatoes, blanched and chopped
1 potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 carrot, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 (15.5-ounce) can pink beans, drained
½ cup corn, fresh or frozen
3 teaspoons Kashmiri chilli powder, (depending on heat and your preference)
½ teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon garam masala powder
½ cup tomato puree
salt
½ cup water
1 bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ cup cream
2 teaspoons dry fenugreek leaves, (kasoori methi)

Directions:
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until it turns light brown. Add tomato and cook for two minutes or until soft. Then add the potato, carrot, cauliflower, pink beans, corn, chilli, cumin, and garam masala. Stir and cook for another two minute. Add the tomato puree, salt and water. Stir, cover with a lid, and cook for ten minutes. Add bell pepper, cream, and fenugreek. Mix to combine the vegetables with the creamy sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, for five minutes.

Avial – Mixed Vegetables in a Lightly Spiced Creamy Sauce

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Avial2

Avial, sometimes spelled Aviyal, is a curry made with several different types of vegetables, yoghurt, and coconut. It is seasoned with coconut oil, curry leaves, and dry whole red chillies. Feasts in Kerala are incomplete with this wholesome, creamy, lightly-spiced dish.

The beauty of this dish lies in the uniformly cut, colorful, medley of vegetables cooked to al dente. There are different methods that can be used in cooking the vegetables. You could steam them, adding tougher vegetables that take longer to cook, first, and then adding the rest according the the time it will take to cook them. Or you could microwave the vegetables that take the longest to cook for a few minutes, to give them a head start, and then add them to the rest of the vegetables and cook them on the stove top, like I did in this recipe.

Vegetables that are most commonly used for avial are elephant yam, raw plantain, different types of pumpkin, French beans, cucumber, drumstick, bottle gourd, carrots, eggplant, and peas. It is difficult to find fresh drumstick where I live, so I’ve used frozen drumstick that I found at the Indian grocery store. You can substitute green raw mango or tamarind pulp for the yoghurt.

The secret of adding flavor and aroma to avial is the final step of seasoning the dish. So follow the steps carefully and I am sure will enjoy this simple but unusual vegetarian dish from Kerala.

Avial
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6-8

1 raw banana
6-8 pieces of drumsticks, (frozen)
¼ cup water + 3 tablespoons
2 small red potatoes
2 small carrots
10-12 French beans
1 small bottle gourd
½ cup shelled green peas, (fresh or frozen)
1 cup grated coconut
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon crushed red chillies, (depending on heat and your preference)
3 green chillies, roughly chopped (depending on heat and your preference)
Salt to taste
1 cup yoghurt
3 tablespoons + ½ teaspoon coconut oil
1 sprig curry leaves
2 whole dry red chillies

Cut the ends of the raw banana and cut it in half. If you have fresh drumstick, peel and cut into 2 inch pieces or use frozen drumstick. Put these two vegetables in a microwave safe bowl with quarter cup of water and cook for eight minutes. Set aside to cool.

Cut the rest of the vegetables uniformly, lengthwise, into two-inch long pieces. Peel and cut the banana into two inch long pieces.

In a blender or food processor coarsely grind grated coconut, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, crushed red chillies, and green chillies.

In a large saucepan, over medium-high heat, add half a teaspoon of coconut oil. Add all the vegetables and sauté for five minutes. Add three tablespoons of water, salt to taste and turn the heat to low, cover with a lid, and let the vegetables cook for another five minutes.

Add the coarsely ground coconut and cover the vegetables with it. Turn the heat to medium-high and let the vegetables and coconut cook until you see steam coming through the ground coconut. About three minutes. Do not over cook the vegetables. Remove from heat.

Beat yoghurt with a fork until smooth. Add it to the vegetables and coconut mix. Stir gently with the handle of a wooden spoon.

In a small pan, over medium-high heat, add three tablespoons of coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add curry leaves and whole dry red chillis. Turn off the heat.  Pour this seasoning over the avial. Cover the dish with a lid and let it rest until time to serve. This dish goes well with steaming hot rice or as a side dish to any grand feast!