The Chayote Squash

The Chayote Squash (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chayote) is a somewhat unusual vegetable in India. Most indians haven't seen it or heard of it. Though, apparently Tamilians use this vegetable often. It was one of those days when I was bored of all the regular vegetables and I decided to use this one.

Properties: Lets look at it first. It looks somewhat like a Guava, but with a strange 'fold'. I have found this vegetable to be quite versatile, and have succesfully used it in Dals, Sambars, Kootu, and even in curry form. This vegetable has a very mild taste, and often takes over the taste of the main gravy. So when using this vegetable, remember the gravy is the real contributor to taste. The vegetable's contribution would be to provide crunchy and juicy pieces to chew on that oozes with the flavor of the dish. And my recommendation is never to peel this vegetable. The skin is quite thin anyway, and if you peel it, the whole thing just gets mashed. And not to mention, the nutrient loss is always magnified when you peel vegetables (This will be a recurring theme in this blog - how to minimize vegetable peeling).

Nutrition: Courtesy http://www.produceoasis.com/Items_folder/Vegetables/Chayote.html

Chayote Squash is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It's also a good source of Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium and Potassium, and an excellent source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate, Zinc, Copper and Manganese.

All good on the nutrition front. That said, even very mild cooking destroys most of the Vitamin C content in any vegetable. So, for vitamin C you have no option but to eat raw vegetables that are high in vitamin C. 

A Curry:

Here we will make a very simple curry that is just too fast to cook. Very minimal tuning of taste. Thoda idhar udhar of ingredients barely matters. And infact, thoda idhar udhar is the key to experimentation !!  We will make a semi-dry curry. 

To Cut:

One Chayote Squash in small-medium sized pieces. Do Not Peel the skin.

To Grind:

1. 5 tea-spoon (tsp) Coconut Powder - Can use fresh coconut if you have it

2. 3 tsp black Mustard seeds - can try 4 tsp if you love mustard paste.

3. 3 tsp Dhania Seeds.

4. 2 tsp Jeera Seeds.

5. 1-2 Red Chillies or 1-2 tsp red chilly powder

6. 1 tsp Tamarind paste

7. 2 tsp Chana Dal or besan - I prefer Chana Dal

Grind them all with a glass of water. Do not worry about consistency - just make sure all the above are well grinded.

To fry:

In a frying pan, take 1-2 tbsp oil. Add 

1. Mustard seeds and wait till they splutter. Then..

2. Add jeera seeds. Wait till they turn a bit brown.

3. A bit of Heeng.

4. Add the cubes of cut Chayote squash.

Keep frying the Chayote Squash on medium flame till it begins to turn a bit brown. Then add the paste you made in the previous step and add some more water to the mixture. Mix it well. Add salt according to your taste. Cover it up and let it simmer on low flame. Keep checking on it and keep mixing it so the bottom doesn't burn. It should be done in about 10-15 mins. You can cook it more if you prefer soft pieces, or a bit less if you prefer crunchy pieces. You should try both if you are experimental !

Flavors: 

As I said earlier, the Chayote by itself does not have much flavor. Most of the flavor comes from the gravy. The gravy has a sweet, spicy and tangy flavor.

The coconut, tamarind and red chillies in the gravy provide a nice south indian feel.

Dhania and Jeera give it a northy feel.  

The mustard paste gives it a punjabi feel.

Overall, you would not be able to place it anywhere !!! Enjoy the Chayote Curry.