Chayote Squash Relish

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Husband and me:

- Would you say Tohayal is a chutney?
- No, chutney is different.
- Is it a pickle?
- Certainly not.
- Is it a pachadi?
-No. It is just what it is: Tohayal! Period.

All right, I saw it before, and it's a losing argument. Tohayal is a South Indian (maybe Tamil?) spiced paste made of vegetables, that accompanies rice and other dishes- a sort of relish, and thus I called it- to be fair. This one here is made of ground chayote squash (chow-chow) peel, tempered with fried urad dhal, red chili pepper, mustard seeds (all ground to a coarse powder). Like my sister in law once said: In India we make the best use of vegetables- be it seed, flesh or skin! Very smart- and yummy!






Comments

Swathi said…
This can be called chayote tohayal or chutney. looks delicious.
January 29, 2011 at 8:24 PM
Sanjeeta kk said…
Adelina, I was always wondering for the English name for this veggie. As I saw this veggie first time after marriage and when I came down to South. My mom thought it was a hybrid guava :) Love the Tohayal.
January 29, 2011 at 11:28 PM
Unknown said…
Thogayal looks delicious..Just a cup of piping hot rice with a spoon of ghee and thogayal..Yummmmm
January 30, 2011 at 2:34 PM
Priya Suresh said…
Thats really beautiful and delicious relish,inviting..
January 31, 2011 at 2:47 AM
Momo said…
looks tempting, the name doesn't matter!:)
January 31, 2011 at 10:42 AM
griffen said…
yum yum yum i like the saying at the end.
January 31, 2011 at 10:05 PM
Anonymous said…
Looks yummy. Did you have this with chapathi?
January 31, 2011 at 11:52 PM
jayasree said…
Thogayal or chutney depends on the consistency. Traditionaly, thogayal is very thick and coarse where as chutney is mostly ground fine and has a runny consistency.

Whatever be the name, it looks delicious.
February 1, 2011 at 5:39 AM
Alessandra said…
Relish sounds good to me, I am not familiar with the other terms :-)
February 1, 2011 at 6:58 PM
Ushnish Ghosh said…
Dear Adelina
How are you? Thats a great conversation. The dish looks great! I have made this few times and I like it ( even if I am from eastern India, I love southern food).
Broccoli stir fry is also looks good and the addition tofu Hummm! must make this soon..LOL Garlic and soya combo needs two exhausts ...
Have a nice weekend
February 3, 2011 at 11:15 PM
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