Chow Chow Mor Kootu – Chayote Squash South Indian Stew (Instant Pot Recipe)

Chow Chow Mor Kootu is a traditional South Indian coconut stew recipe using Chayote Squash. In this post, I used the Instant Pot to make this healthy dish.

Chayote squash is a low-carb veggie filled with water. This is an easy way to make a tasty dish out of it.

This can also be considered a keto dish since all ingredients – Chayote Squash, Chana Dal and Coconut are low in carb.  According to Bob’s red mill, 1/4 cup of chana dal has net carbs of 14g. This recipe only needs about half of that or less – so about 7g of carbs.

Recipe

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Chow Chow Mor Kootu

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

South Indian Cumin-flavored Coconut Stew of Chayote Squash

Course: dinner, lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian, south indian

Ingredients

Vegetable Base - to be cooked initially

• 3 Choyote Squash (Chow Chow) chopped
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• Salt (to taste)

Spice Paste (to be blended)

• 1/3 cup Frozen Shredded Coconut
• 1 tsp Jeera (Cumin Seeds)
• 2 Green Chilli
• 2 tsp Chana Dal (soaked in water for an hour or more)
• 1/2 cup Yogurt (curd)

Tadka (Final Seasoning)

• 2 tsp Coconut Oil
• 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
• Few Curry Leaves

Instructions

1. Add cut Chow Chow pieces, turmeric, salt with 1 cup water to instant pot and pressure cook it for 10 minutes.

2. Grind spice ingredients in a blender with some water

3. Once the pressure releases, switch instant pot to 'saute' mode. Add the spice paste and let it come for 1 boil. Switch it off as soon as you get it boiling.

4. Add oil and let mustard seeds splutter, curry leaves sizzle and add fragrant oil to the stew. Mix and serve with hot rice or chapathi, puri etc.

Step By Step Pics

Add chayote squash, turmeric and salt to the Instant Pot. Set it to pressure cook for 10 minutes.Grind your spice paste in a blender. After grinding, add the paste to the stew and let it boil for 1 minute under ‘saute’ mode in Instant pot.

Add your tadka (seasonings) with crunchy mustard seeds and aromatic curry leaves to the stew.Serve hot with rice, chapathi or puri for traditional option. Alternatively, serve over cauliflower rice for a low carb/keto option.

Does this recipe really need an Instant Pot?

No, it does not. You can do it similarly in a pressure cooker as has been done by previous generations of moms and grandmas. The one advantage with the instant pot is that you don’t have to hover around it, to switch off the cooker on time. It automatically turns itself off. 

Another advantage is that, since it has the saute option, you can open the cooker and boil the contents inside. This was missing in previous electric pressure cookers, when you could only pressure cook and then it was done.

Conclusion

I hope you give this recipe a try. If you are thinking of buying an Instant Pot, click this Instant Pot link. Read the amazon reviews (last I checked, there are about 25K reviews) and then decide if it makes sense for your lifestyle. Please post your comments/ feedback down below. As always, I love hearing from all of you!!

[Note -This post contains Affiliate links for the Instant Pot from Amazon.]