🥄 Chayote Sambar with Sampradas Flavours | Traditional Tamil Recipe
Rooted in tradition, made with love.
This comforting bowl of chayote squash (chow chow) sambar is more than just a curry — it’s a nostalgic, slow-cooked South Indian classic.
Made with love, patience, and Sampradas’ clean kitchen essentials, this sambar captures the perfect harmony of bold spices, slow-simmered dal, and naturally sweet vegetables.
Whether you’re preparing a weekday lunch or weekend feast, this recipe brings flavour, tradition, and wellness into every spoonful.
In this post, we’ll be preparing a simple yet flavourful Chayote Squash Sambar — a South Indian classic that’s comforting, gut-friendly, and easy to make. If you’re searching for healthy vegetarian meals or new ways to use chow chow, this one’s a must-try!
🍅 Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s everything you need to create this beautifully balanced, gut-friendly sambar.
🌿 Base:
- 1 cup thoor dal – soaked overnight and slow-cooked with salt and water
- 2 carrots – sliced
- 1 chayote squash (chow chow) – peeled and cubed
- 2 tomatoes – chopped
- Water – as required
- Tamarind water – pulp the size of a small lemon ball, soaked and squeezed
- 1 tbsp jaggery – for balance
- Handful of chopped coriander – for garnishing
🧄 For the Masala Base:
- 2 tbsp salt (divided use)
- 1 red onion – sliced
- Pounded paste:
- 1 inch ginger
- 7 garlic cloves
🌶️ Whole Spices (Tempering):
- 2 tsp Sampradas Wood Cold-Pressed Groundnut Oil (shop here)
- 1 tsp each:
- Broken urad dal
- Mustard seeds
- Cumin seeds
- 1 dried red chilli
- Handful of curry leaves
- 1 tsp hing (asafoetida) powder
🌶️ Spice Powders:
- ½ tsp Sampradas Turmeric Powder
- ½ tsp Sampradas Chilli Powder
- ½ tsp Sampradas Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- 2 tsp Sampradas Sambar Powder
🔥 Preparation Method
🕰️ 1. Start Slow with the Dal
First, and foremost, soak the thoor dal overnight in water.
Then, in the morning, cook it slowly in the same water with a bit of salt.
By the time you finish breakfast and chores, your dal should be soft and ready to use.
🍲 2. Secondly, build the Flavour Base
Next, in a wide pan, heat Sampradas groundnut oil.
Once hot, add urad dal, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds.
Let them crackle. Then toss in sliced onions, pounded ginger-garlic, red chilli, curry leaves, and 1 tsp salt.
Sauté until onions turn golden brown.
🍅 3. Add Tomatoes & Veggies
Next, add the chopped tomatoes.
Cook for 2–3 minutes until soft.
Then stir in the carrots and chayote squash.
Cover and let it cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat.
🌶️ 4. Add Spices & Dal
Once the vegetables have softened, add in all the Sampradas spice powders, the cooked dal, enough water, and remaining salt.
Let it simmer gently so the flavours combine well.
🍋 5. Finish with Tamarind & Jaggery
Now pour in the tamarind water and add jaggery to balance the heat.
Simmer for another 5 minutes.
Taste and adjust salt or tanginess as needed.
🌿 6. Garnish & Rest
Finally, turn off the heat and finish with a generous sprinkle of chopped coriander leaves.
Allow it to sit for 10 minutes before serving — this helps the flavours deepen naturally.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
This chayote squash sambar is best enjoyed with hot steamed rice and a spoon of ghee.
Pair it with appalam or cabbage poriyal for a complete South Indian meal.
It also goes beautifully with pongal, idli, or dosa for breakfast.
While this chow chow sambar is often paired with rice or dosa, we personally love it served alongside our Nethili Karuvadu Thokku — the spicy, dry anchovy curry adds a bold contrast to this light, tangy sambar. A must try recipe!
💡 Storage Tip
Let the sambar cool before storing it in an airtight container.
Keep refrigerated and consume within 2 days.
As always, reheat only what you need — the sambar often tastes even better the next day!
🛍️ Shop Ingredients from Sampradas
All spices and oils used in this recipe are from Sampradas Kitchen Essentials, Malaysia’s trusted source for wood cold-pressed oils and authentic spice powders.
For updates, follow @sampradas.kitchenessentials on Instagram.
✨ Final Thoughts
This recipe is a reminder that flavour doesn’t need shortcuts.
With time, patience, and the right ingredients, your everyday cooking can become soulful and nourishing.
Try it, share it, and tag us if you do — we’d love to see your creations.
That’s it — flavour that feels like home. See you in the next one!