Avial (Malayalam: wikt:അവിയല്‍; Tamil: அவியல், pronounced [aʋijal]) is a dish that has a unique place in typical Kerala as well as Tamil cuisine and Udupi cuisine. It is a thick mixture of vegetables, curd and coconut, seasoned with coconut oil and curry leaves. Avial is considered an essential part of the Sadya, the Keralian vegetarian feast.

Ingredients

Vegetables commonly used in avial are elephant yam, plantain, pumpkin, carrots, beans, Brinjal,cucumber, drum sticks, snake gourd and avarai. Carrots, beans etc. are recent introduction, while the north Keralan Avial includes bitter gourd also. Some people prefer to skip curd or substitute it with raw mango or tamarind pulp. This dish can be made into a gravy or be made into a semi-solid side dish. It is generally eaten with rice. The word "avial" is also used to denote an assortment or a mixture—this sense being derived from the way the dish is made.
Mythology

It is supposed to have been invented by Bhima (one of the Pandava brothers) during their exile. According to the legend, when Ballav (Bhima's name during this time) assumed his duties as the cook in the kitchen of Virata, did not know how to cook. One of the first things he did was to chop up many different vegetables, boil them together and top the dish with grated coconut. There is a mythology variation. Bheema is said to have prepared Avial, when there were unexpected guests for King Virata and he needed to serve meals for them. There was no sufficient vegetables to cook any single recipe for side dish, so Bheema used what ever available vegetables to make a new dish, which came to know as Avial.