Chow Chow (Chayote) Kootu
Chow Chow Kootu is a comfort food and it is a traditional South Indian dish made with chayote squash, lentils, and coconut, flavored with spices like mustard seeds and curry leaves. This flavorful and nutritious stew is a comforting accompaniment to rice. Tastes good with papad on the side.
Ingredients
- 2 Chow chow (Chayote) chopped into small pieces
- ½ cup Split Moong dal Add turmeric powder and a pinch of hing and cook dal separately in a pan or in a pressure cooker and keep it aside.
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 cups Water
Grind
- ¼ cup Fresh grated coconut
- 2 Dry red chilies
- 1 tsp Jeera (Cumin seeeds)
- 1 tsp Rice flour
Seasonings
- 1 tbsp Coconut oil
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Urad dal
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
Instructions
- Heat water with turmeric powder and some salt. Peel the skin from the chayote and chop them to small pieces. Cover and cook for 10 mins or until the vegetable is cooked. I have added carrots along with chayote because my husband is a big fan of both :)
- Meanwhile, add all the ingredients for grinding in a blender and grind them to a smooth paste by adding little water. Rice flour is added to give thickness to the koottu.
- Once the vegetable is cooked, add the ground coconut masala and the cooked dal to it. Taste test to check salt and let it simmer in a low flame for 5 to 7 mins.
- Mix well and turn it off. Season mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves in a tbsp of coconut oil and pour it over the koottu
- Serve it hot with rice or phulkas. This will be a great addition to your squash recipes.
Tips
- You can add cubed carrots along with chayote just like I did to this recipe.
- Tempering in coconut oil gives a 'thani' (unique) flavor.