Chayote Apple Salad with Chili Lime

Each kitchen stint with the chayote teaches me something new. When I began cooking with this gourd, peeling it was hard – till I learnt the techniques of making triangular notches around its folds and boiling it before peeling. Soon I discovered a different variety of the chayote: the “Ooty chow chow”, which has a smooth exterior that demands no fiddling with folds at all.

So I switched loyalties to the Ooty chow chow, as my observant regulars would have noticed in the post on chayote dal.

While cutting raw veggies and fruits, I sometimes pop a few chopped pieces into my mouth. A reflex action if you will, this usually leads me to grimace and move on – but when I did this with the Ooty chow chow I stopped in my tracks. This vegetable didn’t just look like a pear, it tasted startlingly like one. Do I even need to cook this, I wondered.

I googled for raw chayote recipes and found a few really interesting ones: this chayote apple salad is inspired by Hot Thai Kitchen‘s.

You Need:

• Chayote* – 1 large or 2 medium
• Apple** – 1 large or 2 medium
• Powdered dark jaggery or brown sugar – 1 teaspoon here
• Sea salt – 1/4 teaspoon or to taste [buy here]
• Tajin*** – 1/4 teaspoon or to taste [buy here]
• Paprika powder – 1/4 teaspoon [buy here]
• Fresh lime juice – 1/2 teaspoon
• Cashew nuts – 5

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*Use the juicy, ridgeless variety of chayote. If in India, pick the Ooty chow chow.

**Go for firm, crunchy apples that are the same size as the chayote – this’ll give you equal-sized apple and chayote sticks in the salad.

***Wondering what tajin is?

Let me introduce you to this absolutely wonderful Mexican chili-lime seasoning. Raw/boiled food (think potatoes, cucumber, radish, guava, mango) + a dash of tajin = magic! See what the NYT and The Spruce Eats have to say about this spice.

Can’t get hold of tajin? No problem – add extra lime juice and paprika powder to make up for it.

How To Make Chayote Apple Salad:

Peel the chayote. I do not peel the apple, but go ahead and peel if you prefer it that way.

Make thick sticks out of the chayote: quarter the chayote, de-seed carefully without cutting out too much of the flesh. Slice in half and then into equal vertical pieces.

Cut apples in a similar style as the chayote. Toss the apple pieces with fresh lime juice as soon as they are cut – this will prevent discoloration due to oxidation.

Place the apple and chayote sticks together in a wide bowl.

Crush the cashew nuts coarsely and transfer them to the bowl.

Add the seasonings: jaggery powder, sea salt, paprika powder, tajin.

Toss well.

Chayote apple salad is ready. Serve immediately.

Notes:

Mix the seasonings right before you plan to serve the salad. If you add salt early and let the salad stand, the raw ingredients will give off water and become limp. To carry this salad for lunch, box the chayote and lime-coated apple sticks separately from the seasonings and mix them together directly at lunchtime.

Try other raw salad recipes from the blog too: cucumber pomegranate salad, chana dal kosambari, papaya peanut salad.