Chou Chou Kadalai paruppu Kootu | Chayote Lentil Curry - Vegan & GF

 Kootu is a classic side dish from the cuisines of Tamil Nadu and Kerala .  Kootu is served as a side dish along with the other items on the menu. Kootu Curry is a must have on the Sadhya during any festive occasion in Kerala . 

Kootu is normally thick in consistency made using thoor dhall (pigeon peas), moong dhall (pasi paruppu /split lentil) or a combination of the two dhalls . Kootu is served alongside sambar ,rasam and other  stir fries as a part of main course .

Today, I am sharing a  very tasty  kootu using chayote /chou chou /Bangalore kathrikai and channa dhall/kadalai paruppu . This is my amma's recipe and I love to have this kootu anytime . This kootu is mildly spiced and has very subtle flavors . Elders or kids who are unable to take too much spice, this will surely be a treat to their taste buds .

If you don't get chou chou / seeme badnekaai you can also use ash gourd /pooshnikaai to make this kootu.Chou chou kadalai paruppu kootu goes well with rice and chapathi too. 

Various other kootu recipes on my blog 

Avarekaalu Kootu 

Vellarikaai (Cucumber) Kootu 

Thiruvadhirai Kootu / Thalagam

Vazhakkai (Raw banana) Kootu 

Everyday we want to provide a healthy and balanced meal to our family and we are on the look out for preparing a nutritious side dish for our meals. This week it was my turn to suggest the theme and Side dish won the votes hand down and we are celebrating SideKaKamaal the 304th week in our Foodie Monday Bloghop group .

Chayote /chou chou is a versatile vegetable and can be used extensively in our day to day cuisine in various ways  and the best part is chow chow  is easily available all over the world . If you also relish this vegetable like me,then you must definitely try out Chou Chou Kootu and Chou Chou Poriyal (stir fry) already posted on my blog .

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Cooking Time - 20 mins

Complexity - easy 

Serves - 2 to 3

Ingredients 

2 medium sized chou chou /chayote / seeme badnekaai 

1/2 cup channa dhall / bengal gram /kadalai paruppu 

1/2 cup fresh grated coconut 

2-3  green chillies

1 dry red chilli 

1/2 tsp jeera/cumin seeds

2 tsp coconut oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

Fresh curry leaves 

Pinch of asafoetida (skip for GF) 

1/2 tsp turmeric

Salt to taste 

Method 

• Wash and soak the channa dhall in water for 10 mins.
• Peel the chayote and chop into medium sized cubes ; say 1 inch cubes .
• Grind the coconut, jeera , 2 green chillies and 1 red chilly to a fine paste with some water and keep it aside. 
• In a pressure cooker ,add the chou chou,soaked bengal gram /channa dhall , 1 green chilli slit, turmeric ,little salt and 1/2 cup water.  Pressure cook on medium flame for 2 whistles . Let the pressure release naturally.
• In a thick bottomed vessel,add the pressure cooked chow chow , the ground spice mix and bring it to a quick boil . Adjust water and salt if needed at this stage.  Don't add too much water else the kootu will become runny . We need just enough water to let the kootu boil without getting burnt or sticking to the vessel.
• Heat the coconut oil and temper the mustard seeds along with the curry leaves and asafoetida.  Pour it over the kootu and mix it well . Serve hot .

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Chou chou carrot poriyal | Chayote Carrot Stir fry - Vegan & GF

After binge eating during festive season, we all yearn for a simple home cooked meal . We are no exception to this and our stomach friendly meal after Diwali festivities was a tongue tickling Karvepillai Kuzhambu (curry leaves in tamarind gravy) , soothing Tomato Rasam and this mildly spiced chou chou carrot curry with a liberal garnish of fresh coconut. 

Chou chou or chayote as it is known in most parts of the world is available in Bangalore almost all round the year.  Also known as Bangalore Kathrikai(Tamil) or Seeme Badnekaai (Kannada) . 

Kathrikaai in Tamil means Brinjal / Eggplant , since this resembles a big size brinjal and as it is more often available in Bangalore or Karnataka, people probably began to refer as Bangalore Kathrikaai but in reality this belongs to the squash family and not Eggplant family. 

 Badnekaai also means Brinjal in Kannada and Seeme means "foreign or across boundary " .Since this vegetable was introduced by the westerners the name of "Foreign Brinjal" got stuck to this as this is not a native Indian vegetable. 

Winter is the time when this vegetable is available abundantly very tender fresh . I love to use this chou chou in my cooking a lot . We can use this in Sambar , more kuzhambu and even kootu. 

Chou chou kootu recipe can be accessed via this link . 

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Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - 15 to 20 mins
Complexity - simple 
Serves - 2 to 3

Ingredients 

2 medium sized chayote /chow chow 
2 medium sized carrots

Handful of frozen/fresh peas (optional)
1 green chilli chopped 
Few fresh curry leaves 
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds 
4 to 5 tbsp fresh grated coconut 
Salt as needed 
Pinch of asafoetida (skip for GF)

Method 

• Peel the chayote and carrots and  cut them into small cubes. 
• If using fresh peas, blanch them in water until tender.
• In a pan heat the oil and splutter the mustard, asafoetida along with chillies and curry leaves .
• Sautee the chopped carrots ,peas and chayote with some salt ,sprinkle some water and close with a lid .
• We will do a covered cooking as it retains the nutrients of the vegetables and also the crunch .
• Occasionally open the lid and stir /toss so that they don't get burnt . Sprinkle water if there is a need and continue covered cooking until the chou chou and carrots are well cooked .
• Open the lid and add fresh grated coconut,mix well and turn off the stove.  

Chou Chou /Chayote Kootu

"Kootu" is a Tamil word meaning "ADD".In this particular recipe,its a combination of vegetables and lentils/dhall.Most of the vegetables can be used to prepare except for Okra/Lady's finger/bhindi due to its slimy nature.
There are various varities of kootu,like

Arachuvitta Kootu - A kootu which is prepared using freshly ground masala/spice powder using corriander seeds,gram dhall,dry red chillies mixed with thoor dhall ,vegetables and tamarind extract.

Poricha Kootu - Poricha meaning FRIED in tamil is prepared using ground coconut,pepper seeds,cumin seeds and fried udad dhall and mixed with vegetables and moong dhall.

Thengai Arachuvitta kootu - A kootu prepared using fresh coconut,green chillies,curry leaves and cumin seeds mixed with Moong dhall and vegetables.

 Here I am going to present Chou Chou/Chayote also called as Bangalore Kathirikaai.You can use ash gourd/white pumpkin,orange pumpkin instead.


Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Serves : 2-3
 

Chou Chou /Chayote Kootu