Chow chow/ Chayote curry
If someone had told I will love chow chow/ chayote in the form a curry many many years back, I would’ve laughed right at their face. I don’t think this was a part of my fav veggies growing up because I thought it was too bland. My mom made/ makes kootu out of this which I love now but I genuinely don’t think I liked it much back in the day. Anyways, a kaai (curry) form was something I was totally oblivious too. My friend Nithya was making this one day in her kitchen as I was standing next to her & yapping and I was extremely curious to try this out. What caught my attention was how fresh & nice the vegetable actually looked as a curry. As soon as I tried it out, I instantly fell in love with it. I am someone who loves curries sabzis with a lot of masalas as much as I love them with least or zero masalas. This one comes in the latter category.. just some basic cooking of the veggie & tempering with basic seasoning ingredients and you are done. You have yourself some simple, sattvic, HEALTHY & yummy dry curry that can go along with your rice. I have been making this for sometime now & I felt it was about time I blog it to introduce it to those who are not aware of it :D. The health bit Chayote contains no cholesterol and unhealthy fats, and is usually recommended for controlling bad cholesterol levels.It is a rich source of dietary fiber, magnesium, phosphorus & potassium. It has a lot of water content in it so makes you feel quite full without really promoting weight gain :D.
On my personal front, Mr Adyant Ramasundar is now talking a lot & calls me ‘Bad Amma’ atleast 100 times in a day. Whenever I try to discipline him in any way, I hear this immediately. I was telling my mil yesterday as to how my childhood flashes before my eyes almost every single instant. I distinctly remember how I hated it when my parents told me to do something or not to do something. But I am grateful for the way they have brought me up & for the way they have always supported me in everything patiently. Patiently being such a key word (not sure how much I possess this :D).
- 2 medium chow chow/ chayote
- 3/4 tsp rock salt
- 1 tsp coconut oil refined oil works fine too
- 3/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1.5 tsp broken urad dal/ split black gram
- a generous pinch asafoetida
- 2 nos green chilli
- few curry leaves
- 3 tbsp grated coconut
-
Wash the chow chow/ chayote & peel/ scrape off the outer skin using a peeler.
-
Cut chow chow into small chunks. Place it in a small pressure pan & add some salt.
-
Pressure cook for 1 whistle. DO NOT add any water.
-
Once pressure releases, open the cooker & ensure the chow chow is cooked by poking a knife into a few chunks (should go in easily). Check & adjust for salt here. Leave it cooker open.
-
Meanwhile, heat a small pan/ kadai with some coconut oil. Once heated, add mustard seeds.
-
Once mustard seeds start to splutter, add the broken urad dal & let it brown.
-
Once it starts to brown, add some asafoetida, chopped green chillies & saute for a few seconds till the green chillies start to change colour.
-
Finally add curry leaves, saute for a few seconds & turn off the heat.
-
Pour this seasoning/ tempering onto the cooked vegetable & add some grated coconut. Mix well.
-
Serve warm along with some traditional south indian sambhar/ rasam/ curd rice. My favourite is to mix with plain rice with a dollop of ghee and have it as kaai saadham (curry rice).
- Typically chow chow/ chayote does not require any water while being pressure cooked since it naturally has a lot of water content in it. However, if you find your chow chow dry while chopping it, you can add 1/2 tsp of water while pressure cooking.
- Also, if you find the chow chow/ chayote under cooked after 1 whistle, then you can let it pressure cook for another whistle.
Stepwise pictures
Wash the chow chow/ chayote. Peel off the outer skin & cut it into small chunks. Place this in a small pressure pan, add some salt & pressure cook for 1 whistle (DO NOT add any water).
Once the pressure releases, open the pressure pan & check if the chow chow is cooked by just poking with a knife. Check & adjust for salt at this stage. Set this aside for it to cool down (also allowing excess moisture to release).
Meanwhile, in a small pan/ kadai, heat some coconut oil, add mustard seeds & let it splutter.
Once the mustard seeds start to splutter, add broken urad dal & let it brown.
Once it starts to brown, add a pinch asafoetida, chopped green chillies & saute for a few seconds.
Add curry leaves & saute for a few seconds. Turn off the heat.
Transfer the seasoning/ tempering on to the cooked chow chow & add the grated coconut. Mix everything together.
Serve warm along with some regular south indian sambar/ rasam/ curd rice. Infact, I love to mix this in plain rice with ghee & have it as kaai saadham ( curry rice).
