“Seemebadanekayi Raita (Chayote Squash/ Chow Chow- Curd Salad)” … here is a simple- nutritious raita/ salad with addition of curds and seasoned with spices that can be served as side dish with any dishes of your choice ... tastes excellent with bhakri/ pulav/ briyai/ parathas etc. ... Yummilicious ...
** This is a simple raita prepared with Seemebadanekayi/ Chayote Squash/ Chow Chow and curds that can be served as a side dish with any dishes like bhakri/ parathas/ pulav, biryani or spicy rice dishes. Raitas is salad prepared type dish with addition of curds and the seasoning/ tempering is always a matter of choice. You may or may not season any salad/ raita as the current trend that goes by asking to people curtail on oil, but yes, frankly seasoning adds to the aroma and taste and makes it that much more appealing and I strongly believe a little bit oil is always healthy.
** For this raita I have used Seemebadanekayi/ Chayote Squash/ Chow Chow veggie as they are available in plenty now. This veggie has plenty of water content in it but still needs to be cooked before using into dishes. I have cut them into small sized cubes and just microwave cooked them with little bit of water for about 3 minutes. However, the same can be prepared by cooking in a vessel with a little bit of water too, here the point is to cook it before adding into dishes using any method convenient to you. A healthy veggie, so try this the next time you find it in your place.
** Here is my simple recipe for “Seemebadanekayi Raita (Chayote Squash/Chow Chow- Curd Salad)” … a healthy version, my style …
** Ingredients :
Seemebadanekayi/ Chayote Squash/ Chow Chow : 1 large sized.
Homemade Thick Curds/ Dahi/ Yogurt : 1 cup
Coriander Leaves/ Kottambari Pallo/ Dhania : handful finely chopped
Green Chillies/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 4-5 cut into pieces
Ginger/ Adrak/ Alle’ : 1 inch piece grated.
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
** For Tempering/ Seasoning/ Pannaka/ Tadka :
Coconut Oil/ Narlel Tela/ Nariyal Tel : 1 tsp
Urad Dal/ Black Gram Dal : ½ tsp
Mustard Seeds/ Rai/ Sasam : ½ tsp
Hing/ Asafoetida Powder : ½ tsp
Dry Red Chilly/ Sukki Tambdi Mirsanga/ Sooki Laal Mirchi : 1-2
Fresh Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10
** Peel off the outer skin of one large sized or two small sized seemebadanekayi and cut into ¼ inch sized cubes. Wash well, put it in a vessel with little bit of water and cook until just done. You can use microwave for cooking as I always do too. When cooked and done remove and keep it aside to be completely cooled to room temperature.
** Beat curds to a smooth texture, you can use skimmed milk curds if desired. Add in cooked seemebadanekayi pieces along with the water in which it is cooked if any, finely chopped coriander leaves, green chillies cut into pieces, grated ginger and salt to taste and mix well. Check consistency and add in water only if necessary.
** For Seasoning/ Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat coconut oil (preferably or any edible oil of your choice) in a small pan, when hot lower the heat and add urad dal, when color changes slightly, add mustard seeds, when they begin to splutter, add hing, red chilly cut to pieces if large and curry leaves and fry for a minute, then pour it over the raita, cover and leave it aside for 15-20 minutes for the flavor to get seeped in. If you need to serve it later, then allow it to rest in fridge till needed.
** “Seemebadanekayi Raita (Chayote Squash/Chow Chow- Curd Salad)” is done and ready to be served. Though it goes very well as side dish with most preparations, it tastes best served with bhakri/ parathas/ pulav, biryani or any spiced rice dishes. I served it with Spicy Peas (Vatana)- Methi- Cabbage- Bajra- Rava Bhakri and it was a lovely combination. If you always make it a point to serve salad/ raita for every meal, you will reap in plenty of health benefits for self and family, so do so if you do not from today.
** Note : Raita’s can be prepared and kept in fridge for a few hours before serving or if you want to serve it cold. However, do not exceed time limit of maximum 4 hours as somehow the taste gets lost. They actually taste best when served fresh just mixed in and if you want to serve it cold, I suggest you chill the curds, beat it, add it and serve it immediately. Do try out this delicious raita as its filled with healthy nutrients.
** You can use the search option for "Salad/ Raita" or go through the link given below where you will get many more healthy salad recipes. Do try out various types of salads to relish as a side dish along with your other favorite dishes.
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