Chow chow or chayote kootu is a South Indian lentil and vegetable stovetop stew that has subtle sweetness from the squash and creaminess from the dal. It is the perfect cozy curry to ladle over a bed of fluffy basmati rice.
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What is kootu?
Kootu (koo-tuh) is a a South Indian dish that is a vegetable and lentil stew or curry. Compared to a typical dal, there is a high proportion of vegetables in a kootu. The types of vegetables can vary from chow chow (chayote), which is what is used in this recipe, to a medley of other vegetables that your heart desires.
The dal used in kootu can vary among moong, masoor, and toor. I typically like to use moong or masoor dal because of its fast cook time. To learn more about dal varieties and how to source them check out this blog post on the different Indian dal varieties. In addition, I highly reccomend reading this primer blog post that goes in depth on how to cook any Indian dal.
What is chayote (chow chow)?
Chow chow, which is the Tamil word for chayote, is a small squash with a thin green outer layer. Chayote has a subtle sweet taste and becomes a soft consistency when cooked. The texture of chayote is similar to a summer squash like zucchini when cooked but with a sweeter profile. It is usually easy to find chayote in your local grocery store but if you can't find it there it is most definitely at your local Indian, Asian, or Mexican grocery store.
How to cut and eat chayote
Although you can eat chayote with its green skin on, typically the tough skin is peeled off with a peeler. From there, it is as simple as cutting the chayote vertically in half and removing the seeds from the base of the chayote. In Indian stews like kootu, the chayote is cubed and either steamed, boiled, or sautéed with spices to allow it to soften and melt into the stew.
Related Recipes To Try
If you are trying to master and have dal in your weekly meal prep rotation, I highly recommend reading my detailed blog post on cooking any Indian dal.It will go over information on sourcing different varieties of dals and different methodologies for cooking dal. You can then use those techniques and apply them across any of these dal based dishes below!
Frequently Asked Questions
Masoor dal is a great substitute for moong dal. It is thin like the moong dal which makes it a great candidate for stove top cooking with no soaking needed. Read this post about moong dal which does into detail about this lentil and its substitutes.
You don't have to soak moong dal since it is a thin type of dal. However, I recommend soaking the dal while you are completing other tasks in this recipe to help lower the cook time of the dal on the stove. To understand soak times for various dal varieties checkout this post.
Yes, you can absolutely make your kootu in an instant pot. You can simply sauté your ingredients in the instant pot, add the dal and remaining veggies, and cook the dal on high pressure setting for ~15 minutes.
Yes. It's highly recommended that you wash dal before cooking. Washing the dal removes the excess starch and residues that are introduced during the factory processing stage and ensures that the dal has a clean taste and consistency.
You can easily buy split moong dal (without the skin) online (link is attached in the recipe) or at your local Indian grocery store. To learn more about the different dal varieties check out this blog post on Indian dal varieties.
Chow Chow Kootu (Chayote Squash Dal Curry)
Product Reccs
Ingredients
- ½ cup (100 g) split moong dal (without skin)
- 2 (560 g) chow chow (chayote)
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- ½ (90 g) medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1 (85 g) roma tomato finely chopped
- 1 Thai chili finely chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt plus more to taste
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ⅛ teaspoon asafetida
Thalipu/Tadka Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons ghee
- ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1-2 dried red chili peppers
- 5-10 curry leaves
- ⅛ teaspoon asafetida
Instructions
Instant Pot Method
- Swish and lightly scrub the ½ cup (100 g) split moong dal (without skin) that has been soaking with your fingers to release the excess starch in the dal. Drain the cloudy water and repeat this process until the water is fairly clear, then drain once more.
- Soak the moong dal: Once the dal has been washed, add the moong dal into a bowl with enough warm water to cover the dal and allow it to soak while you complete steps 3-4 below. This step helps reduce the cook time of the dal.
- Use a peeler to peel the green skin off the 2 (560 g) chow chow (chayote) and discard. Cut the chow chow vertically in half and scoop the seeds out of the center of the chow chow.
- Cut the chow chow into ½ inch cubes and set aside.
- Add the 2 teaspoons vegetable oil and onions to the Instant Pot on the medium heat sauté setting and sauté until the ½ (90 g) medium yellow onion (chopped) are translucent (~2 minutes).
- Add chopped 4 cloves of garlic and sauté for an additional minute. This helps cook out the raw flavor and smell of the garlic.
- Add the chopped chow chow, 1 (85 g) roma tomato, and 1 Thai chili along with half of the 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt and sauté until the tomatoes soften and release their juices, which should take about 1-2 minutes.
- Drain the soaked and washed dal, add 1 ½ cups water, ¼ teaspoon turmeric, and ⅛ teaspoon asafetida to the pot.
- Next, cancel the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, fasten the lid to the pot, and ensure vent is sealed. Use the manual setting to set the Instant Pot to high pressure setting for 5 minutes. You can release the pressure manually by carefully moving the venting valve once done or you can wait for a natural de-pressurizing of the Instant Pot which should take an additional 5 minutes.
- The dal should be cooked through and should be mushy to the touch. Another test is to use a whisk to whisk the dal and water together. If the dal and water remain separate rather than mixing into a creamy, homogenized mixture, it means that the dal needs to soften and cook longer, which you can do by simmering the dal for some more time.
- Once dal is cooked, use a wooden spoon/whisk and mix up the dish until the dal becomes creamy. Use the back of the spoon to mash a few pieces of chow chow into the dal. Add the remaining salt, taste, and add more to your liking.
- Make Tadka or Thalipu: In a separate small saucepan over medium-high heat, add 2 teaspoons ghee and ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds, and 1-2 dried red chili peppers and toast them in the ghee until the cumin seeds start to dance in the oil (this should take only a couple of seconds). Next add 5-10 curry leaves. The curry leaves will pop and sputter in the oil at which point you can turn off the heat and add ⅛ teaspoon asafetida. Pour the tadka over the chow chow kootu.
- Serve the chow chow kootu over some basmati rice and enjoy!
Stovetop Method
- Follow steps 1 - 7 in the Instant Pot method but instead use a regular deep pot on medium heat on the stove.
- Follow step 8 in the Instant Pot method but add an additional ½ cup of water to the pot to compensate for the water that will evaporate using the stovetop method.
- Bring the water in the pot to a boil.
- Once the water has come to a boil, cover the pot with its lid, and allow the dal to cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes.
- Follow steps 11- 13 in the Instant Pot method.
Notes and Tips
- Helpful readings: What is moong dal? , How to: Cook any Indian Dal, What are curry leaves?
- For the stovetop method, if the water is running low, add ½ cup of water to the pot.
- For the stovetop method, if the dal is too runny, simmer the dal on the simmer setting until the mixture thicken.
Shri Repp
Easy weeknight recipe!