Chow chow Paruppu koottu and peel thogayal

Chow chow / Bangalore Kathirikai / Chayote 

A dal curry paruppu koottu with chow chow and a spicy chutney using it's peel (chow chow thol thogayal). 

Today we are going to using the whole humble chow chow (except the seed).

This is an excellent yummy dal based curry I prepare often using the chayote that is available all around the year in USA at the same price always. We just love this simple dal along with the peel chutney with piping hot rice. This is my very own recipe. Hope you all love this combo.

Ingredients: For Paruppu koottu:

Chow chow - 2
oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard - 1  tsp
Channa dal - 1 tbsp

Dry red chili - 2
Curry leaf - 1 sprig
Onion (chopped) - 1

Tomato - 2
Tuvaram paruppu (Toor dal) - 1/4 cup
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
hing - 1/8 tsp
salt - to taste
To grind:
Coconut - 3 tbsp
cumin - 1 tsp
green chilly - 3

Method: 
Rinse the dal. 

Pressure cook it with turmeric 1/2 tsp and hing a pinch.

(After 1 whistle reduce heat and cook for 10 mins or in electric cooker Instant pot, set pressure cook time to 10 mins and it will be cooked soft).

keep aside.

While cooking dal,

Peel the chow chow and reserve the peels for making chutney (recipe below).

Discard the seed in the center.

Cube the chow chow.

 In a wok heat 2 tbsp oil, add mustard seeds, channa dal and let the mustard crack. Then add chopped onion, curry leaves, chopped dry red chili. Saute till onion turns soft. 

Add the chopped tomato and cook till soft.

Add 1 tsp salt.

Now add the chopped chow chow and the sauted onion mixture to the cooked dal in pressure cooker.

Grind coconut, green chilly, cumin to a coarse paste. 

Add this mixture also to the chow chow.

Mix well.

Pressure cook again. After getting 1 whistle reduce heat and cook for 5 mins and switch off.In Instantpot, set pressure cook to 5 mins.

Once pressure is reduced, open , mix well. Check and add more salt if needed.

Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Chow chow paruppu koottu is ready !

Serving suggestion:
Serve as curry over rice or as side dish with chapti or any rice.

Chow Chow Thol Thogayal

Ingredients. For chow chow thol thogayal:

Peels from  2 chow chow
Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard - 1  tsp
urid dal / channa dal - 1 tbsp
Curry leaf - 1 sprig

Dry red chili - 2

Tamarind - 2 inch size

Garlic - 1 clove
Cumin - 1/2 tsp

hing - a pinch
salt - 1/2  tsp

Method: 

Rinse the chow chow and peel the skin.

Use the chow chow for making a curry.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard, as it starts crackle, add urid dal.

Then add the dry red chili and other items.

Fry few seconds. Once red chili gets crispy , take it out. Let other things stay in the pan.

(this helps in lesser spicy fumes, If you can tolerate spicy smell, then no need to take out the chilies).

Add the peel of chow chow.

Saute and cook covered for 5 mins in low heat.

Let cool.

Grind to a thick chutney without adding water (few drops is ok).

Chow chow thol chutney is ready.

If needed garnish with fried mustard seasoning (I save some seasoning while doing for paruppu koottu and add to chutney).

Serving suggestion:

Serve as side dish with rice, curd rice or idli dosai.

Gongura chutney

Other names : gongura / Pulicha keerai  / roselle leaf / Hibiscus sabdariffa, 
Gongura is a popular variety of spinach in Andhra and Chennai (Tamilnadu). This spinach is sour in taste and it is generally cooked with dal like a curry. Sometimes this gongura is used in making chutney and pickles too. Gongura leaf costs around $4.99 / lb (2015) in US cities,

Gongura leaf : This plant can be grown easily in kitchen garden during warm weather.

Gongura chutney

Ingredients:
Gongura leaf - 2 cups (loosely packed)
dry red chilly - 5
urid dal - 1 tbsp
salt - to taste
cumin - 1/2 tsp
garlic - 1 clove
curry leaf - few
sesame oil / olive oil - 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tsp

Method:
Choose and buy fresh gongura. Pick the leaves alone and discard the stems.
Wash well and drain water completely.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add urid dal and as soon as it starts getting mild red, add the dry chillies , curry leaf and switch off. The chillies get fried in the pan heat itself.
Take away them and keep aside. Heat another tbsp oil and add the cleaned gongura leaves.
Saute till the leaves get cooked well.
Switch off and let cool.
Grind the fried chilly, curry leaves, urid dal, cooked gongura, cumin, garlic, salt to a fine paste using little water.
Again heat the pan with a tbsp of oil and add the mustard seeds. As it gets cracked, add the chutney paste and cook well till the chutney leaves the sides.
Gongura chutney is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with  idli , dosa or curd rice.

Indian green chutney

Indian chaat foods are generously garnished with this cilantro chutney, popularly known as green chutney. I make this chutney whenever I buy cilantro and keep handy. This is the best way to preserve the cilantro and mint leaves for me. I use this chutney as side dish with chaat items and also as cilantro mint paste in my curry preparations.

Preserve the cilantro, mint leaves as chutney and it stays good for more time.

Ingredients:
Cilantro - a bunch
mint leaf - 20 stems (leaf only)
green chilly - 4
ginger - 2 inch
cumin - 1 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp
white vinegar - 2 tbsp (optional)
lemon - 1/2
salt - to taste

Method:
Select a big bunch of cilantro. Discard the roots and bigger stem. Wash and clean in a big bowl to remove any dirt or sand.
Take the leaves of the mint leaves and wash. Peel the ginger.
Grind together everything to a fine paste. If needed add few tbsp of water.
Adding vinegar is optional, but the chutney stays good in refrigerator for a long time.
Store in fridge for a week or freeze as cubes for longevity.
This chutney can be prepared with or without mint leaves.
Some people would add little sugar to it.

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish or garnish with any chaat , dhokla, samosa.
I use this as a spread in bread omelette also.

Ridge Gourd Peel chutney

Usually we make curries out of Ridge gourd . But many of us will not be aware of making a chutney with its peels. This is one of the signature dishes of my mom.
It pairs well with rice or chapathi.
I am sure ridge gourd is such a yummy vegetable when cooked with dhal. But have you ever noticed the resulting quantity of the curry? If we miscalculate the end product and buy the same quantity as of any other vegetable, then we will face a challenge in distributing the curry. Oh! yes, the curry will shrink a lot after losing its moisture in cooking. So if we generally buy one lb of any vegetable , then we should double the quantity while buying this ridge gourd.
How come we throw away such a succulent peel like this? So if you are planning to make ridge gourd curry next time, then don't throw away the peels. Just save them for a yummy chutney.
Here is the recipe!

Peerkankai thol chutney:


Ingredients:
Ridge gourd - 1
Dry Red chilli - 4
curry leaf - 1 sprig
tamarind - small gooseberry size
salt - to taste
urid dhal - 1 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
garlic - 1 clove



Method:
Wash and clean the ridge gourd.
Peel and save the outer skin , discarding the veins in the ridge.
Chop the skin coarsely.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai.
Add all the above ingredients except salt, garlic and cumin .
saute them till the peels become tender (or) edges turn mild brown.
Then switch off the stove and cool it completely.
Then add salt, garlic ,cumin and grind to a fine paste.
Ridge gourd chutney is ready.

Serving suggestions:
Goes fine with chapathi, dosa or any rice meal.

Green chilly chutney (less spicy)

When I planned to make the Andhra 's Pesarattu , the side dish sparked in my mind was their special green chilly chutney. Green chilly chutney is loved by the people of North Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. I remember a version of green chilly chutney but it calls for a lot of Indian green chilly without Jaggery.
At the same time while browsing through Jaishree's Ruchi , I got a green chilly pickle recipe.
Then I got an idea to add Jaggery to the chutney. My friend Prathiba from Bangalore told me to substitute Jalapeno peppers for half of the green chilly. I didn't have any Jalapeno pepper so I used a big green bell pepper to reduce the spice of chilly.
The result is the following "Less spicy green chilly chutney". The flavor reminds me of Andhra restaurant chutney , but with less spice.
If you want more spice , then go for 5 Jalapeno peppers instead of a bell pepper. No need to temper the chutney.


Green chilli chutney / Less spicy chilly chutney/ Pachai milagai chutney

Ingredients:
Green Bell pepper - 1
Indian green chilly - 10
sesame seed - 1 tbsp
garlic - 2
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
tamarind - a big strawberry size
crushed Jaggery - 1 tbsp
salt - to taste

Method:
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a wok.
Chop the bell pepper. Do not chop the small green chilly.
Fry both with 1 tbsp sesame seeds . Cook them covered till the chilly turns pale brown.
Deseed and soak the tamarind.
Grind fried chilly, sesame seed, cumin seed, tamarind , salt, jaggery and garlic to a fine paste.
No need to garnish.
Green chilly chutney is ready!

Serving suggestions:
The above said quantity will be comfortably enough for 4 people.
Serve hot as side dish with idly, dosa, pesarattu , chapathi etc.

Coconut Chutney .

Chutneys are similar to  dippings like blue cheese or tomato sauce. Indian dishes like Dosa and Idly are mostly served with coconut chutney.
Here is my mother's special thengai chutney.

To grind:
Fresh grated coconut - 1/2 cup
(You can substitute it with frozen coconut also. But the original chutney flavor comes with full coconut newly grated only.)
Puffed channa dhal (pori kadalai / pottu kadalai)- 2 tbsp.
green chillies - 4.
tamarind - 1 inch bit.
salt- 1/2 tsp.

To garnish:
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp,
Urid dhal - 1/4 tsp.
curry leaves - 1 sprig.
Red chilli -1 (cut in to 2 pieces)
shallot onion (small onion)- 1 .(chopped)
oil- 1 tbsp.
Method:
We need an Indian mixer to grind the chutney. Put all the items given for grind in a small jar of the mixer.Close the lid. First run the mixer without adding water. Then after a second add 1/2 cup water and grind the chutney in to a fine thick paste.
Heat a frying pan. Add urid dhal and mustard seeds. wait to hear the cracking sound of mustard. Add chopped onions , red chilli and curry leaves. Put off the flame. Then add the chutney (while pan is hot, but switched OFF). Mix well.
Then transfer it to the serving bowl.
Serving suggestions:
Makes nearly 200 ml or 1 cup chutney.
It can be served as a side dish / dipping for Dosa, Idly, Vada, Pongal etc.
Note:
My mother inlaw would bring it to a boil before switching off. That too tastes good.
Instead of pori kadalai, we can use roasted groundnut too.