Chow Chow Poriyal/ Spicy Chayote Curry

Our town lies in the border of Tamilnadu and Andhra pradesh. Just like our people speak both languages, they also practice both cuisines in their day  to day life. It is hard, atleast for me, to define which dish belongs to which state.

The other day, when my husband bought Chayote, I thought of making an authentic andhra dish out of it, just for RCI event hosted by Latha of Masala magic.  As  I am not very comfortable  in defining the cuisines, I called my favourite Mallika’s cookbook for help. Anybody who would have watched Jaya TV will know about this  celebrity -Mrs Mallika Badrinath.  Mrs. Mallika Badrinath is always been an inspiration for me. Her measurements and methods never fail and her books are known for the details, which equals that you get from your mom and grandma. I own most of  her cookbook collections. This  dish is from the book “200 classic lunch recipes”, a book about south Indian traditional recipes. I have tried to translate and present as she has done in her book.I always  adore the way she presents her recipe- ‘right ingredients at the right stage’.

200 classic lunch recipes cookbook

Ingredients

Chow chow- 2 number

Garlic- 10 pods (I used 5 large pods)

Onion-1 number

Roasted and ground fennel seeds- 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Gram dall- 1 table spoon

Oil as needed

For tempering

Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp

Gram dall – 1 tsp

Red chilli- 1 number

Curry leaves

Chow chow poriyal

 Spicy cayote curry with  curd rice and tomato pickle- exclusively made for RCI -Andhra

Method

Roast the gram dall till golden color and grind it .

Chop onion and garlic very finely.

Peel and seed  the chow chow and  cut into medium sized cubes.

Heat oil in a skillet , temper the mustard seeds, gram dall, chilli and curry leaves.

Add onion and saute for 2 minutes.

Add chow chow cubes  and fry for another minute.

Add adequate water, turmeric powder, fennel seed powder, salt, chilli powder and garlic to the skillet.

When the veggie is 3/4 done,  add gram dall powder and cover the vessel.

If needed add some more water .

When all the water is well absorbed, turn off heat and serve.

Alternate:

You can use snake gourd instead of chow chow and prepare the curry in the same method.

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12 thoughts on “Chow Chow Poriyal/ Spicy Chayote Curry”

  1. Asha says:

    I have her collection of books too in English,love the authentic recipes and books are cheap too compared these “fancy” book who have the usual recipes.
    Porial looks great LA.LOVE the bowl:))

  2. usha says:

    Hi!
    Great combination for curd rice. And the silver bowl looks beautiful!

  3. lakshmiammal says:

    Thanks Asha and Usha. I lent my son’s feeding bowl and plate for presentation.

    Yes Ashaji, Mallika’s books are lot more cheaper and they were never a failure to me. I just admire her shows.

  4. D says:

    Hi,

    What is gram dhal?… is it pottukadalai?

  5. lakshmiammal says:

    Gram dall is kadalai paruppu.Also called chana dall.

  6. Sobila says:

    hi..

    i tried this recipe today.
    it is really good & different one.
    thanks.

  7. Suganya says:

    If you wud serve me on that silver plate and bowl ,I wud feel like a queen 🙂

  8. TBC says:

    That’s a nice recipe. Love urserving bowl!

  9. TBC says:

    That’s a nice recipe. Love urserving bowl!

  10. sundar says:

    Tasty, healthy and practical recipes. Thanks. Can you provide recipes for diabetics and heart patients, it would be great.
    This is my blog on Tasty Tamil Recipes

  11. L Iyer says:

    Thanks! lovely recipe, keep posting more of such gud ones

  12. L Iyer says:

    Thanks! lovely recipe, keep posting more of such gud ones

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