chow chow recipe ~ kootu and thuvayal

I rarely cook with this vegetable before. but after trying thuvayal, i started to cook often. chow chow kootu is the second recipe, i cook. But my personal favorite will always be this thuvayal! To know more and to find nutritional information about chayote/chow chow check here.

                                              Chow Chow Thuvayal / Chayote chutney

Chow Chow Recipe

Prep Time: 05 mins 

Cooking Time: 20 mins  
Serves: 2
Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Recipe Type: Vegetable

Ingredients:



Ingredients:

Chow chow / chayote - 1
Sunflower oil - 2 tsp's
Urad dal - 2 tsp's
Dry red chilly - 3 or 4
Tamarind - a small pinch
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp's
Salt to taste
Water - 3 tsp's



for tadka:

Oil - 1/2  tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method:

First wash the chow chow and peel its skin. then cut into half and remove its seed and white veins. chop them into chunks and set aside.

In a Pan, add 1/2 tsp of oil and heat it. once the oil is hot, add urad dal and dry red chilly. roast till the urad dal turns into golden color. remove the roasted urad dal and dry red chilly to a separate bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, add remaining oil and add in the chopped chow chow. saute them in medium flame for about 7 - 10 minutes, till it is cooked soft. add tamarind and also roast along in the last minute.

Transfer the sauteed chow chow to your chutney jar, add in the roasted urad dal, red chilly and grated coconut. add salt to taste. grind it coarsely first. then add water and grind into a thick chutney. transfer to a serving bowl.

For tadka, heat a small tadka pan, add 1/2 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp mustard and curry leaves. once the mustard splutter, add the tadka to the chutney / thuvayal.

Serve with rice and rasam combo. this chutney tastes good with dosa too.

Note:

You can skip grated coconut and make this chutney as such.

 Chow chow kootu / Chayote Dal

                                                      Chow chow kootu / Chayote Dal

Ingredients:

chow chow - 1
moong dal / paasi paruppu - 1/4 cup
turmeric powder - a pinch

to dry roast and grind:

dry red chilly - 3
cumin - 1 tsp
grated coconut - 3 tsp's

for tadka

oil - 1/2 tsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
split urad dal - 1/2 tsp
dry red chilly - 1 (broken)
asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method:

First wash the chow chow and peel its skin. then cut into half and remove its seed and white veins. chop them into small pieces and set aside.

Heat a pan and dry roast the cumin, dry red chilly and grated coconut. grind into a smooth paste with little water.

Wash and cook the moong dal  with a pinch of turmeric in 1 cup of water. when the dal is half cooked, add in the chow chow pieces to the dal and cook for another 5 minutes. chow chow and dal  has to get cooked well(the whole process may take 15 minutes).

Then add the grounded mix to the pan and let it boil for a minute and transfer the dal to a serving bowl.

For tadka, heat a tadka pan, add oil and heat it. add mustard, urad dal and dry red chilly. when the mustard splutter, add asafoetida powder and curry leaves. transfer the tadka to the dal.

Notes:

You can add 1 green chilly and crushed garlic, while cooking the dal and chow chow together. this way, you can get a different taste.

 Don't pressure cook the dal and vegetable. the texture and taste of the dal gets spoiled, when pressure cooked. so best to cook in stove top.

You can also make this with chana dal instead moong dal.