Chow Chow Carrot Poriyal | Chayote Carrot Stir Fry

  Chow Chow carrot poriyal or chayote carrot stir fry is a typical South Indian style poriyal or stir fry that is tasty, nutritious, and easy to make.
 Chow Chow is a common vegetable in our region, but it is sadly underutilised.

Chow Chow is also known as Chayote squash, chocho, Bangalore brinjal, among other similar names.It is a member of the gourd family. It contains essential vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C, B6, Folate B9, and Vitamin K, as well as minerals such as magnesium, manganese, potassium, zinc, and copper.It also contains a lot of antioxidants.

Health Benefits of Chow Chow-

💪Helps in weight management.

💪Prevents diabetes.

💪Prevents cancer.

💪Keeps gut healthy and prevents constipation.

💪It prevents heart problems as it lowers blood pressure and cholesterol.

💪Reduces visible signs of aging.

    Since chow chow contains a lot of moisture, it's essential to cook it carefully. For this poriyal, I cooked the chayote and carrot in a pressure cooker for one whistle (adding only enough water), then sauteed with onions, coconut masala, cooked green gramme dal, and tempering. Make sure the Chow Chow doesn't get mushy by overcooking it. If you don't want to use a pressure cooker, you can cook the vegetables in a kadai with the onions, tempering, and water.

Below is a recipe for traditional Chow Chow Carrot Poriyal.

Ingredients

Chow Chow-1&1/2 cups (skin removed,chopped to medium sized cubes)

Carrot-1/2 cup (skin removed,chopped to medium sized cubes)

Onion-1 no chopped

Green gram dal-1-2 Tbsps (cooked 3/4 th)

Green chillies-2 nos slit lengthwise

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Urad dal -1 tsp

Salt to taste 

Curry leaves and coriander leaves few

Oil-2 tsps

 For Masala (Powder coarsely without water)

Grated coconut-2 Tbsps

Red chillies-2 nos

Cumin seeds-1 tsp

Fennel seeds-1/2 tsp

Recipe Video

Method

👉Powder the ingredients given under For masala coarsely without adding any water set aside.

👉In a pressure cooker add the chopped chow chow ,carrot and 1/2 cup water and pressure cook for just 1 whistle, switch off the gas and allow the pressure to subside completely. Set the veggies along with the water aside until use.

👉Boil the green gram dal until it's 3/4 th done, drain the water and set the dal aside.

👉Heat oil in a kadai add mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and green chillies allow it to splutter.

👉Add onion and saute well until onions turn translucent.

👉Now add the cooked veggies along with water.Continue to cook until all the remaining water is evaporated.

👉Add the cooked dal and required salt mix well.

👉Finally add the ground coconut masala and mix everything well and saute for 2 mins.

👉Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Preparation Time-25 mins

Serves-4