Next time when you prepare pulav or any rice dishes instead of having regular raita try chow chow raita. Also known as chayote, healthy vegetable chow chow has not got the credit that it deserves. It belongs to cucumber family and serves zero calories. Including chow chow in diet has multiple benefits – it contains three main vitamin C, K and B6. Presence of myricetin, morin and kaempferol antioxidants helps body to reduce inflammation. It is good for high sugar levels, aids digestion and improves gut health.

Chayote can be cooked to make sambar, curry, stir-fry, rice dishes, soup and salads. It can be used for preparing delicious Indian raita.

Ingredients:

1. Chow chow – 1
2. Green chilis- 3
3. Grated coconut -1/2 cup
4. Ghee – 2 tsp.
5. Oil – 1 tsp
6. Yogurt – 1 cup
7. Cumin -1 tsp
8. Mustard – 1 tsp
9. Urad dal – 1 tsp
10. Curry leaves – 1 string
11. Water – 1 cup
12. Asafetida- pinch
13. Salt – as per taste
14. Cilantro (coriander)– ¼ cup

Preparation:

1. Wash and peel chow chow  and cut into small pieces
2. Place a frying pan on medium heat, add oil and fry the cut chow chow pieces. Allow it to cool.
3. Grind grated coconut, cumin, green chili into fine paste.
4. Add grinded masala to cooked chow chow, add salt and mix well.
5. Add yogurt and water.
6. In a frying pan on medium heat prepare seasoning using ghee. Add mustard, urad dal, curry leaves, little cumin and asafetida.
7. Season chow chow raita. Garnish using cut coriander  (optional- You can also pieces of red onion and tomato)
8. Serve raita with any type of rice dishes – bisibele bath, pulav, veg fried rice or you can have this also with any type of rotis.

Image credit: Chayote – Image by Goran Horvat from Pixabay 

Raita image- https://in.pinterest.com/pin/539869074093358229/