Chow Chow Kootu Recipe | Bangalore Kathrikai Kootu | Chayote Kootu recipe

Chow Chow Kootu | chayote stew | Bangalore kathirikai kootu

Learn how to make chow chow kootu recipe | chayote stew recipe | Bangalore kathirikai kootu | Bangalore brinjal curry | Seema vankaya kootu |  seeme badanekai kootu | chayote coconut curry. 

An authentic south Indian style kootu recipe with detailed step-by-step photos, procedures, and health benefits.

Kootu is a Tamil word that means "add," it is a type of stew where the cooked vegetables, dal, and spices are combined with the ground coconut paste. It is a simple and traditional recipe from Tamil Nadu.

Kootu is a healthy and tasty side dish. It has a thick texture and semi-solid consistency. You can have this kootu with sambar rice, rasam rice, curd rice, roti, and chapati as well. Most of the kootu varieties have some kind of veggies, coconut, and a combination of dals in them. You can use any variety or a combination of lentils, including moong dal, toor dal, channa dal, urad dal, masoor dal, etc.

Poricha kootu, which means fried in Tamil. This variety of kootu is made with fried dal, pepper, red chilies, ground coconut, and some cooked veggies. Another one is Arachivita kootu which literally means "grounded and then poured." So the spices and shredded coconut is grounded into a coarse paste and then poured into the cooked vegetable dal gravy.

Further, the basic coconut gravy remains the same in all kootu varieties, and vegetables like beans, carrots, cabbage, chayote squash, snake gourd, bottle gourd, and ridge gourd are commonly used to prepare kootu.

In today's post, we will learn how to make kootu with chayote squash. It is a pear-shaped vegetable that looks light green in color. It has a crunchy texture that can be boiled or eaten raw. The seed is generally discarded for cooking purposes.

Chayote squash is also called Chow Chow or Bangalore kathrikai in Tamil, Seeme badnekai/Bangalore brinjal in Kannada, Seema vankaya in Telugu, Sheema katharikai in Malayalam.

Chayote kootu is easy to prepare. Simply pressure cook the dal, chow-chow veggie along with water for 15 minutes. In the meantime, fry the spices and prepare the coconut paste for the kootu/stew. Finally, blend the coconut paste and cooked veggies in the aromatic tadka (seasoning the Indian spices in the oil). I always prefer to make this chow chow kootu in the pressure cooker as the veggies take some time to get cooked. If you don't have a cooker, use the instant pot for this recipe. 

Some people use rice flour or besan flour to thicken the gravy, but I don't normally add them as the channa dal and coconut is sufficient to thicken the kootu. You can easily adjust the gravy consistency as per your preference.

My grandma used to make a lot of Karnataka dishes using seeme badnekai. She often makes palya, chutney, saaru, gojju, Huli, sambar at home. I will soon post those recipes. So stay tuned to my space. Now, let's get into the seeme badnekai kootu recipe! 

Recipe: Chow Chow Kootu | chayote kootu recipe | Bangalore kathirikai kootu 

Serves - 4 to 6

Cuisine - South Indian.

Region - Tamil Nadu.

Course - Side dish.

Prep time - 5 mins | Cook time - 25 min | Total time - 30 min.

Diet - Vegetarian

Author - Pavithra.

Ingredients:

Chow chow/chayote - 2 small

Moong dal - 1/4 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp/As per taste

Water - 1/2 cup

Cilantro/Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp chopped

To roast and grind:

Oil - 1 tsp

Channa dal - 1 tbsp

Red chili - 2 to 4

Coconut - 1/4 cup

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Water - 2 tbsp

To season:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Red chili - 1

curry leaves - 1 twig

Asafoetida - A pinch

How to make chow chow kootu:

1. Wash, peel, and chop the chayote veggie into 1-inch cubes.

2. Pressure cook the chopped veggie along with moong dal, turmeric powder, a drop of oil, quarter cup water for 15 minutes on a medium flame.

3. Meanwhile, roast channa dal, red chili, cumin seeds in a tsp of oil until it turns golden brown and aromatic on a medium flame. Switch off once it is done. Toss the shredded coconut in the same pan and give it a nice mix.

4. Transfer the roasted ingredients to the mixer jar, grind onto a smooth paste, and keep it aside.

5. Now, heat oil in a pan over a medium flame. Once it gets hot, temper mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chili, curry leaves, and asafoetida.

6. Pour in the boiled veggie dal in the pan and let it cook for a few minutes. Add the required salt and mix it well.

7. Add the ground coconut paste and saute. Cook for a minute over a medium flame.

8. Adjust water and let it boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the flame once it is done.

9. Garnish it with cilantro and serve it with sambhar/rasam rice.

How to make kootu with step by step photos:

1. Clean, wash, and peel the skin of the chayote.

2. Chop the chayote veggie into 1-inch cubes and discard the seed.

3. Put the chopped veggie along with moong dal, turmeric powder, a drop of oil, quarter cup water in a container.

4. Pressure cook for 15 minutes on a medium flame.

5. Meanwhile, roast channa dal, red chili, cumin seeds in a tsp of oil until it turns golden brown and smells aromatic on a medium flame. Switch off once it is done.

6. Toss the shredded coconut in the same pan and give it a nice mix.

7. Transfer the roasted ingredients to the mixer jar.

8. Grind onto a smooth paste and keep it aside.

9. Now, heat oil in a pan over a medium flame. Once it gets hot, temper mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chili, curry leaves, and asafoetida.

10. Pour in the boiled veggie dal in the pan.

11. And let it cook for a few minutes. Add the required salt and mix it well.

12. Add the ground coconut paste.

12. Give it a nice mix and saute for a minute.

13. Adjust water and add the required salt.

14. Mix well and let it cook for 5 minutes.

15. Turn off the flame once it is done.

16. Garnish it with cilantro and serve it with sambhar/rasam rice.

17. Chayote squash stew | Chow chow kootu recipe is ready to serve with steamed rice, roti, etc.

Chayote nutrition | Health benefits of chow chow:

1. It is a good source of vitamin C.
2. Chayote is rich in dietary fiber, which is helpful for digestion.
3. Rich in nutrients, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fiber.
4. It contains antioxidants.
5. It stabilizes blood sugar levels.
6. It is low in calories, and high in fiber, which helps with weight loss, 100 grams of chayote has only 22 calories.
7. It has a high amount of proteins.
8. It is good for the heart and brain.

9. Low in saturated fat.

Coconut health benefits:

1. Coconut is packed with nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.

2. Rich in fiber.

3. It contains healthy fats and is a great source of protein.

4. It promotes weight loss.

5. Good for skin and hair.

6. Excellent source of minerals such as magnesium, potassium, iron, copper.

7. It contains zinc and selenium, which are required to maintain thyroid levels.

8. It is a great moisturizer for the skin and protects it from the sun.

Try this South Indian style chow chow kootu recipe, and let me know how it turns up. Express your thoughts in the comment section below; I can't wait to hear from you:)

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Learn how to make Chow Chow Kootu Recipe | Bangalore Kathrikai Kootu | Chayote Stew with step-wise pictures!