On days when I want to make traditional dishes but do not want to spend too much time in the kitchen, I opt for kootu. This Chow Chow Poricha kootu is one such comfort food for me, which pairs well with rice and is so easy to make.
I love it with rice and paruppu (dal). I also like kootu for the reason that it is a very good way of getting vegetables into a kid’s meals. My kids love to eat sambhar rice over the rasam. Instead of making sambhar, I make kootu on certain days loaded with a vegetable or a combination of vegetables.
I like this cookbook because she has separated the recipes based on the region. There are Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Chettinadu, Mangalore, and Andhra Pradesh recipes in this book. This recipe is a Tamilnadu recipe and was delicious.
Preparation time - 10 mins Cooking time - 40 mins Difficulty level - easy
Ingredients to make Chow Chow Poricha Kootu - (serves 4)
- Chow Chow (chayote squash) - 2
- Kadalai Paruppu/Bengal gram dhal - ½ cup
- Salt - to taste
- Sugar - 1 teaspoon (optional)
Grind together
- Red chilies - 4
- Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
- Ullutham paruppu/black gram dhal - 2 tsp
- Oil - 1 tsp
- Coconut - ¼ cup (grated)
For Seasoning
- Oil - 1 tsp
- Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
- Ullutham paruppu - 1 tsp
- Red chilies - 1
- Asafetida - ¼ tsp
- Curry leaves - few
Procedure to make Chow Chow Poricha Kootu
- Fry red chilies, cumin seeds, and ullutham paruppu listed under grind together in oil until golden brown. Now add the grated coconut and grind it into a smooth mixture. There is no need to fry the coconut.
- Scrape the outer skin on chow chow and cut it into small cubes. Cook it along with kadalai paruppu in enough water until the paruppu becomes soft to the touch and the chow chow is cooked.
- Now add the ground paste and salt and cook until the kootu thickens to the required consistency.
Heat oil and add the seasonings. Mix the seasoning with the kootu and serve hot with rice.
This kootu can also be made with other vegetables such as white pumpkin, snake gourd, radish, etc.
More Side Dishes
- Mullangi Vatha Kuzhambu | Radish Kuzhambu
- Thayir Pachadi (Without vegetables) - Plain Raita
- Thayir Keerai Kongunadu Style | Spinach In Yogurt Base
- Tirunelveli Sambhar - Nellai Sambhar
Recipe
Equipment
- ▢ Stove
Ingredients
- ▢ 2 chayote squash chayote squash - 2
- ▢ ½ cup Kadalai Paruppu/Bengal gram dhal
- ▢ Salt
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Sugar optional
- ▢ Grind together
- ▢ 4 Red chilies
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ▢ 2 teaspoon Ullutham paruppu/black gram dhal
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Oil
- ▢ ¼ cup Coconut grated
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Oil
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Ullutham paruppu
- ▢ 1 Red chilies
- ▢ ¼ teaspoon Asafetida
- ▢ Curry leaves
Instructions
- Fry red chilies, cumin seeds and ullutham paruppu listed under grind together in oil until golden brown. Now add the grated coconut and grind it into a smooth mixture. There is no need to fry the coconut.
- Scrape the outer skin on chow chow and cut ii into small cubes. Cook it along with kadalai paruppu in enough water until the paruppu becomes soft to touch and the chow chow is cooked.
- Now add the ground paste and salt and cook until the kootu thickens to required consistency.
- Heat oil and add the seasonings. Mix the seasoning with the kootu and serve hot with rice.
- This kootu can also be made with other vegetables such as white pumpkin, snake gourd, radish etc.
Nutrition
More Kootu
- Parangikai Paal Kootu | Tender Yellow Pumpkin Kootu
- Keerai Molagootal | Spinach Kootu | Keerai Kootu
- Pavakkai Pitlai | Bitter gourd Pitlai
- Kathirikkai Gothsu | Eggplant Gothsu | Brinjal Gothsu
Chow Chow Poricha Kootu – Chayote Squash Stew
Equipment
- Stove
Ingredients
- 2 chayote squash chayote squash – 2
- ½ cup Kadalai Paruppu/Bengal gram dhal
- Salt
- 1 teaspoon Sugar optional
- Grind together
- 4 Red chilies
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoon Ullutham paruppu/black gram dhal
- 1 teaspoon Oil
- ¼ cup Coconut grated
- 1 teaspoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Ullutham paruppu
- 1 Red chilies
- ¼ teaspoon Asafetida
- Curry leaves
Instructions
- Fry red chilies, cumin seeds and ullutham paruppu listed under grind together in oil until golden brown. Now add the grated coconut and grind it into a smooth mixture. There is no need to fry the coconut.
- Scrape the outer skin on chow chow and cut ii into small cubes. Cook it along with kadalai paruppu in enough water until the paruppu becomes soft to touch and the chow chow is cooked.
- Now add the ground paste and salt and cook until the kootu thickens to required consistency.
- Heat oil and add the seasonings. Mix the seasoning with the kootu and serve hot with rice.
- This kootu can also be made with other vegetables such as white pumpkin, snake gourd, radish etc.
