Our town lies in the border of Tamilnadu and Andhra pradesh. Just like our people speak both languages, they also practice both cuisines in their day to day life. It is hard, atleast for me, to define which dish belongs to which state.
The other day, when my husband bought Chayote, I thought of making an authentic andhra dish out of it, just for RCI event hosted by Latha of Masala magic. As I am not very comfortable in defining the cuisines, I called my favourite Mallika’s cookbook for help. Anybody who would have watched Jaya TV will know about this celebrity -Mrs Mallika Badrinath. Mrs. Mallika Badrinath is always been an inspiration for me. Her measurements and methods never fail and her books are known for the details, which equals that you get from your mom and grandma. I own most of her cookbook collections. This dish is from the book “200 classic lunch recipes”, a book about south Indian traditional recipes. I have tried to translate and present as she has done in her book.I always adore the way she presents her recipe- ‘right ingredients at the right stage’.
Ingredients
Chow chow- 2 number
Garlic- 10 pods (I used 5 large pods)
Onion-1 number
Roasted and ground fennel seeds- 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt- to taste
Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Gram dall- 1 table spoon
Oil as needed
For tempering
Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
Gram dall – 1 tsp
Red chilli- 1 number
Curry leaves
Spicy cayote curry with curd rice and tomato pickle- exclusively made for RCI -Andhra
Method
Roast the gram dall till golden color and grind it .
Chop onion and garlic very finely.
Peel and seed the chow chow and cut into medium sized cubes.
Heat oil in a skillet , temper the mustard seeds, gram dall, chilli and curry leaves.
Add onion and saute for 2 minutes.
Add chow chow cubes and fry for another minute.
Add adequate water, turmeric powder, fennel seed powder, salt, chilli powder and garlic to the skillet.
When the veggie is 3/4 done, add gram dall powder and cover the vessel.
If needed add some more water .
When all the water is well absorbed, turn off heat and serve.
Alternate:
You can use snake gourd instead of chow chow and prepare the curry in the same method.
I have her collection of books too in English,love the authentic recipes and books are cheap too compared these “fancy” book who have the usual recipes.
Porial looks great LA.LOVE the bowl:))
Hi!
Great combination for curd rice. And the silver bowl looks beautiful!
Thanks Asha and Usha. I lent my son’s feeding bowl and plate for presentation.
Yes Ashaji, Mallika’s books are lot more cheaper and they were never a failure to me. I just admire her shows.
Hi,
What is gram dhal?… is it pottukadalai?
Gram dall is kadalai paruppu.Also called chana dall.
hi..
i tried this recipe today.
it is really good & different one.
thanks.
If you wud serve me on that silver plate and bowl ,I wud feel like a queen 🙂
That’s a nice recipe. Love urserving bowl!
Tasty, healthy and practical recipes. Thanks. Can you provide recipes for diabetics and heart patients, it would be great.
This is my blog on Tasty Tamil Recipes
Thanks! lovely recipe, keep posting more of such gud ones