Pan Fried Chayote Squash (Chow chow/Seemebadnekai Phodi Recipe)

Pan Fried Chayote Squash (Chow chow/Seemebadnekai Phodi Recipe)

If you sit down to have a Konkani cuisine meal, you'll definitely be served atleast one pan fried veggie. They're locally known rava fry. Phodi in Konkani. 

Semolina is used to shallow fry slices of veggies to make crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, delicious phodis. They're simple & easy to make & make an amazing appetizer, side dish for lunch/dinner. Best part they take just 5 minutes to make. 

Konkani cuisine includes breadfruit (jeevkadgi) phodi, kantola (phagla) phodi, eggplant (gulla) phodi, plantain (kele) phodi, ripe bananas phodi, bittergourd (karathe) phodi, potato phodi, capsicum phodi, colocasia tuber (maaddi) phodi, sweet potato (kanag) phodi, rigde gourd (gosale), chayote squash (seemebadane), bamboo (kirlu) phodi and elephant foot yam (surna) phodi.

Here's how to make seemebadne phodi real quick. They're rich in Vitamin C too. So, you can also make chayote stir fry (seemebadnekai palya/upkari) to include them in your diet.


How to pick the best ones:

Pick chayote that are tender. How do you knoew they are tender? Tender ones have closer ridges. As they mature they move apart. Tender ones are also usually a nice green in colour. As they mature they tend to turn slightly yellow or lighten in colour. 


Ingredients:

  • 1 chayote squash
  • 1/4 cup semolina (sooji rava or chiroti rava)
  • 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for shallow frying

Preparation Method:

1. Peel chayote squash.

2. Slice them into thin slices.

3. Add salt to the slices in a bowl. Toss them around & let them rest for 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in another bowl, mix semolina with salt (just enough for the semolina), red chilli powder.

5. Also, heat up a frying pan.

6. After 4-5 minutes dip salted chayote slices into the semolina mixture, coat them uniformly all around with semolina.

7. Keep them one by one on the hot frying pan. 

8. Drizzle oil on top uniformly on all slices. Cook closed on high flame for 2-3 minutes. Put off the flame.

9. Keep it closed. After 2-3 minutes, lift the lid & overturn all the slices.

10. Drizzle oil if needed. Cook closed again for 2-3 minutes on high flame. Put off flame.

11. Keep it closed. After 2-3 minutes, lift the lid & remove all the slices onto a plate. They would be cooked well. 

12. Serve them hot & enjoy.


P.S: You can make them using my Mil's phodi pitti too. Tastes super yum. Coat it with phodi pitti instead with semolina mix above. Rest of the steps stay same as above.


Tags: tomato saaru, phodi