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You are here: Home / Tamil Recipes / Chow chow kootu recipe, how to make chow chow kootu

Chow chow kootu recipe, how to make chow chow kootu

September 2, 2016 38 Comments

Chow chow kootu recipe, learn how to make chow chow kootu or chayote squash kootu recipe, a Tamil-style recipe that goes great with rasam and rice.
Chow Chow Kootu Recipe | Tamil-Style Kootu Recipe

No kootu I’ve ever made has looked as pretty as this Chow Chow Kootu. The mom-in-law made this the day after they landed in Singapore earlier last month. Thank God I had some chow chow languishing in the fridge. Sometimes, letting vegetables stay in there results in good things – like this kootu.

You can also try making chow chow chutney recipe and chow chow sambar if you love this vegetable (also known as chayote squash) as much as we do.

Chow chow kootu recipe
 
Print
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
20 mins
Total time
35 mins
 
Author: nags
Recipe type: Vegetarian Sides
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 cups chow chow, cut into small cubes
  • ½ cup channa dal / Bengal gram / kadala paruppu
Grind Together:
  • ½ cup grated coconut
  • A pinch of turmeric
  • 1 tsp jeera / cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 green chilli (optional)
  • Salt to taste
For Tempering:
  • 2 tsp (coconut) oil
  • ¼ tsp mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp urad dal (optional)
  • A generous pinch of hing / asafoetida
  • A few curry leaves
Instructions
  1. Wash and soak the Bengal gram
  2. Add to the cut, cleaned chow chow
  3. Add 4 cups water and bring to a boil
  4. Add turmeric powder and a few curry leaves and cook on simmer until the chow chow is cooked soft and the Bengal gram is cooked yet firm (about 15-20 mins)
  5. Add salt
  6. While the chow chow and Bengal gram cooks, grind the ingredients under "grind together" with a bit of added water
  7. Add to the cooked chow chow mixture
  8. Mix well and simmer until all extra water is absorbed and the mixture takes a thick consistency
  9. Heat oil for tempering and add ingredients in the order given
  10. Once the mustard seeds pop and the urad dal turns brown (if using) dunk everything into the kootu mixture and mix well
  11. Adjust salt
  12. Serve hot with rice and kuzhambu of choice
3.5.3208

Step by Step Chow Chow Kootu Recipe:

Wash and soak the Bengal gram for around 30 mins to 1 hour

chow chow kootu recipe
Add to the cut, cleaned chow chow

chow chow kootu recipe
Add 4 cups water and bring to a boil

chow chow kootu recipe
Add turmeric powder and a few curry leaves and cook on simmer until the chow chow is cooked soft and the Bengal gram is cooked yet firm (about 15-20 mins)

chow chow kootu recipe
Add salt

chow chow kootu recipe
While the chow chow and Bengal gram cooks, grind the ingredients under “grind together” with a bit of added water

chow chow kootu recipe-6 chow chow kootu recipe
Add to the cooked chow chow mixture. Wash out the grinder and add 1 cup water to this mixture.

chow chow kootu recipe
Mix well and simmer until all extra water is absorbed and the mixture takes a thick consistency

chow chow kootu recipe
Heat oil for tempering and add ingredients in the order given

chow chow kootu recipe
Once the mustard seeds pop and the urad dal turns brown (if using) dunk everything into the kootu mixture and mix well. Adjust salt. Serve hot with rice and kuzhambu of choice

chow chow kootu recipe

Notes: 
– If the chow chow kootu is too watery even after simmering for a while, mix 1 tsp rice flour with some water and add to the mixture. Bring to light boil and the mixture should get thicker.
– Another alternative is to drain the water once the chow chow and channa dal have cooked. I don’t prefer this method too much because of the loss of nutrients through the water.
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By nags Filed Under: Gravy Vegetarian Side Dishes, Tamil Recipes

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Comments

  1. Anonymous

    April 5, 2013 at 7:14 pm

    Chow chow is also called "Banglore kathirikkai (brinjal / egg plant)" in Madras. I have been told (by people who are not from Madras) that it is wrong to call it by that name because "Banglore kathirikkai" is a a different vegetable. Obviously…as this is not an egg plant at all! But in Madras, if you ask for Banglore kathirikkai you will get chow chow. It is Chayote squash in USA, used in Mexican cooking and widely available in all supermarkets. I was surprised to learn that so many of the vegetables used in Indian cooking originate from other countries. This one from Mexico, Kohl rabi (nool kol) from Germany etc. and of course potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes,green peas etc.

    Reply
  2. Aarthi

    October 2, 2012 at 9:14 pm

    I Tried this yesterday and the dish came out really well.Infact my hubby loved this version a lot!! I have never been a fan of chow chow, but this recipe has made me change my mind..

    Reply
  3. anusha praveen

    September 14, 2012 at 6:06 am

    Hey Nags i was just browsing through for chow chow recipes when i found that this recipe of yours has been copied verbatim. The link is here http://amezingrecipes.blogspot.in/2012/04/chow-chow-kootu-recipe.html i just thought maybe i should tell you about it

    Reply
  4. Autumnspring

    September 13, 2012 at 5:38 am

    Awesome. Blessing for guys like me. Nanri

    Reply
  5. Autumnspring

    September 13, 2012 at 5:38 am

    Blessing for married guys who cook. Well for all guys.. Awesome explanation.. I loved my chow chow knout.. Nani

    Reply
  6. Anonymous

    May 14, 2012 at 4:50 am

    to all kutu fans,
    soak 2 -3 tsp of tur dal for half an hour. Add the tur dal, 1 tsp homemade sambhar powder and 8-10 curry leaves to the above ingredients (the green curry spots in the masala look very attractive and gives a very different tase and aroma) to the ingredients mentioned above for the kutu gravy… it tastes amazing as promised by my MIL.
    Chow Chow can be replaced with white pumpkin (ash gourd), snake gourd, bottle gourd as the need or availability demands. Chow-chow is rarely available here.. but the Ash-Gourd kutu is heavenly and made at least once a week in our home.
    As You said, the water need not be drained-i simply cook with it!
    Hing / asafoetida should also be added after the cooking is done along with corriander leaves for garnish – then turn once.
    Add 1-2 tbspn of curd just before serving.
    Some MIL tips i follow with my eyes closed…

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      May 15, 2012 at 4:18 am

      thanks anon!

      Reply
  7. Anonymous

    April 26, 2012 at 4:51 pm

    sorry to sound stupid, but what is a chow chow? This looks good and would like to make it but don't know what a chow chow is?

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      May 3, 2012 at 12:46 am

      chow chow is also called chayote squash. just do a google image search and you can see it.

      Reply
  8. K. Kayalvizhi

    April 17, 2012 at 5:26 am

    I have tried making this kootu and it turned out well…

    Reply
  9. preethi

    April 8, 2012 at 1:49 am

    we make cucumber kootu instead of chow chow and dal replace cucumber. This looks soo good:)

    Reply
  10. Anonymous

    April 6, 2012 at 7:38 am

    soon i will make chow chow. mouth watering

    Reply
  11. Anonymous

    April 6, 2012 at 7:37 am

    good

    Reply
  12. Anonymous

    March 20, 2012 at 7:04 pm

    Any way to make kootu without coconut? I'm allergic :(. My husband loves kootu but because of my allergy, i cant make any of them. Any ideas?

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      March 20, 2012 at 9:23 pm

      you could leave the coconut out and maybe add besan or rice flour mixed with water to thicken the gravy but it's definitely not going to taste as great.

      Reply
  13. augustine s. g.

    December 5, 2011 at 6:00 am

    hey, ive tried this recipe. it came out really well. today i tried this with raw papaya instead of chow chow. to my surprise it came out really well. thank u nagas for the wonderful recipe….

    Reply
  14. Anonymous

    November 12, 2011 at 9:19 am

    I tried it and turned out great. Thanks

    Reply
  15. Chash

    September 21, 2011 at 4:57 am

    Great Job.. !!! its' really nice for ppl who wanna try out different recipes… continue your good work.. 🙂

    Reply
  16. Sharmilee! :)

    April 18, 2011 at 3:27 am

    Yummy kootu, luv it with rice

    Reply
  17. Samarpita

    April 17, 2011 at 12:11 pm

    Just made it for dinner. This is awesome. This will be a regular for sure. I used to see this veggie at Fairprice and wonder how to use this, now I know :D.

    Reply
  18. Siri

    April 17, 2011 at 4:51 am

    I totally agree Nags, Oh my, the kootu looks so vibrant and pretty and yummy. I can't wait to get back home and eat all my mom's food. :-).

    Siri

    Reply
  19. Nags

    April 17, 2011 at 12:13 pm

    That's so cool! Thanks for letting me know you tried the chow chow kootu recipe, Samarpita 🙂

    Reply
  20. Sarah

    April 16, 2011 at 3:19 am

    I could never figure out how to cook chow-chow other than adding some to sambar! This looks superb!

    Reply
  21. Kadhyaa...

    April 14, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    thats such a bowl of yummy kootu

    Reply
  22. Mehjabeen Arif

    April 14, 2011 at 6:03 am

    New to ur space n happy to follow u for more wonderful recipes..

    Do visit me when u get time dear .
    http://comeletseat.blogspot.com

    Reply
  23. Mehjabeen Arif

    April 14, 2011 at 6:03 am

    Kootu looks so inviting.. nice colour..

    Reply
  24. Rekha

    April 14, 2011 at 5:53 am

    Hi Nags
    Very colorful…Chowchow koottu is one of the favourite recipes in our home and I make it atleast once a week. The ingredients I use is a bit different from your list, with Chana Dal being replaced by moong dal and for grinding, we use only coconut, greenchillies and cumin seeds.
    Will try out your version too soon…

    Reply
  25. Anonymous

    April 14, 2011 at 4:56 am

    what is chow chow called in tamil?? thanks
    Mala

    Reply
  26. jodye @ 'scend food

    April 13, 2011 at 9:46 pm

    This kootu sounds delicious, and the colour is beautiful! I'll have to make this quite soon!

    Reply
  27. Nags

    April 14, 2011 at 5:02 am

    As far as i know, its chow chow 😀 That's what my MIL calls it anyway.

    Reply
  28. Sathya Sankar

    April 13, 2011 at 5:47 pm

    Kootu looks delicious and rich in color!

    http://www.appetitetreats.com

    Reply
  29. Priya

    April 13, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    Kootu looks absolutely divine…sooo inviting..

    Reply
  30. Usha

    April 13, 2011 at 4:28 pm

    You are right about the color… it is very inviting and lovely..

    Reply
  31. Divya

    April 13, 2011 at 1:04 pm

    This looks so yum..I make this very often. Many a time using cabbage instead of chow chow.

    Reply
  32. DEESHA

    April 13, 2011 at 12:53 pm

    This kootu is so so different from what we kannadigas make .. This is an easier version though

    Reply
  33. Raji

    April 13, 2011 at 10:44 am

    Can't agree less with you…this kootu is looking really pretty…must have tasted great too.

    Reply
  34. jeyashrisuresh

    April 13, 2011 at 9:52 am

    Will taste awesome with vathkuzhambhu and hot rice.Simple and yummy kootu

    Reply
  35. Tina

    April 13, 2011 at 2:16 pm

    looks delicious

    Reply

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I am Nags, the face behind Edible Garden, a food and recipes website for the busy (and sometimes lazy!) cook since 2007. My recipes are meant to be quick yet healthy and delicious - Nothing fancy, nothing too difficult. Follow Me On Instagram for real-time food and life updates.

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