Stuffed Dondakaya/Tindora Curry

Here I come after a long break from blogging. Okay, this time the break is not because I was not cooking, but because I was not finding time to take pictures, edit and upload them.

Finally today I got some free time to post this recipe for Stuffed Tindora curry. This recipe is originally from my mom and it has been altered a bit by my sister.

The original recipe had just the channa dal, cumin seeds, garlic and red chillies for stuffing. Coconut and poppy seeds were my sister's additions.

Ingredients:

Tindora/Dondakaya: 20-25(Chop ends and make slits length wise for stuffing)

For Stuffing:

Channa Dal: 4 tbsp
Cumin Seeds: 1 tsp
Coriander seeds: 2 tsp
Poppy seeds: 1 tbsp
Dried Red Chillies: 3
Garlic: 2 cloves
Dry Coconut: 1 tbsp
Curry leaves:5
Salt to taste

Tempering:
Oil: 2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds: 1 stp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Turmeric: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 4
Hing: a pinch

Procedure:

Boil tindora with water and salt in a pressure cooker until you get 1 whistle or boil them in salt water until half cooked.

Take a pan and when the pan is slightly heated add the channa dal and slightly roast.
Now add the remiaining ingredients under the stuffing and slightly roast them.

Grind them into powder in a spice grinder. Add salt to the powder.

Now stuff this powder into the tindora slits and set them aside.

Now add oil to a pan and add the tempering ingredients in the order mentioned and when the seeds start spluttering, add the stuffed tindaora to the oil and sprinkle any stuffing powder that is left on top. Mix gently and sprinkle 2 tbsps of water and cover the lid and cook for few minutes.

Remove the lid and fry for few more minutes.

Garnish with Cilantro.Serve with hot steamed rice.

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Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji is a popular street food in India. Pav means bun and bhaji is curry made with different vegetables.  The bhaji is a blend of different vegetables in an onion and tomato based gravy spiced with the aromatic pav bhaji masala.
It is easy to prepare and is nutritious too as it consists of number of vegetables. It is traditionally made with butter and is topped with butter before serving. To make it healthy I cook with oil and just top with little butter before serving. Sometimes I avoid that too.

Ingredients:

Potatoes(cut in cubes): 1 large
Peas: 1/2 cup
Carrots(chopped): 2
Beans(cut in pieces): 1/2 cup
Bell Pepper(cut in small pieces): 1
Onions: 1 large
Tomatoes: 2 medium-sized
Oil: 2 tbsp
Dried fenugreek leaves(Kasuri Methi): 1 tbsp
Pav Bhaji masala: 2 tbsp(available in Indian grocery stores)
Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder: 1 tsp
Lime Juice: 1 tsp
Green chillies(cut in small pieces): 2
Buns

Procedure:

Boil the potatoes, carrots and beans in a pressure cooker and set them aside.
Add oil to a pan and when the oil is heated add the onions, turmeric powder and  green chillies,sprinkle some salt over the onions and cook them until they become soft.
Now add the ginger garlic paste and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the bell pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cover the pan with a lid and cook for few minutes until the tomatoes become very soft. Add 1/2 cup of water to the tomatoes of required.
When the tomatoes are completely cooked, add the dried fenugreek leaves and the pav bhaji masala and mix well. Remove the carrots, beans and potatoes from the pressure cooker and save the water.
Now add the pressure cooked potatoes, carrots, beans to the onion tomato mixture and mash them with a potato masher.
Add the frozen green peas and mix them gently. Add  the pressure cooker water to the pan and cook for 10 minutes. Add the red chilli powder. Add the lime juice and mix. Adjust the salt.
Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve with slightly toasted buns.
Toast the buns on a pan with little butter or oil.
Add chopped onions over the bhaji before serving.

Note: If using fresh green peas add the to the pan after the onions are cooked and before adding the tomatoes. They take little more time to cook then the frozen peas.
Tip: Curry can be made in excess and can be refrigerated for 3-4 days.
If you do not have pav bhaji masala, a tsp of cumin powder, a tsp of coriander powder and 1/2 tsp of garam masala can be used instead.

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Mango Pie

I know it has been a while that I posted a recipe on FoodZone. These days I haven't cooked much, and even if I cooked, those recipes were already there on the blog. I wanted to post some special recipe for Christmas but couldn't and then thought of doing that for new year and that did not happen either. Holidays have been busy with friends, parties and travelling around.

Hope you all had a merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

My cousin 'S' sent me this Mango pie recipe and pictures to put on my blog on the last day of the last year :) I wanted to add it to the blog immediately as a new year post, but I just could not find time to do that. I did not even know where my laptop was. The day was that crazy. In fact today morning, before going to work, I literally had to search for my laptop. Sometimes I wish we had something like Google to search for things in the house.

Anyways coming to the recipe, she said it is a simple but a super yummy pie. So if your still i n the holiday mood and want to treat yourself with some more goodies, go ahead and try this pie. All it needs is some ready made ingredients and few minutes to put them together.




Ingredients:
 1 can Mango Pulp(available in Indian stores)
Kraft Cool Whip : 8 oz
Unflavored gelatin: 2 packets
Graham Cracker Pie Crusts: 3
Walnuts for garnish.

Procedure:


Boil 1 cup water and add gelatin to it. Mix it untill the gelatin dissolves in water. Now mix mango pulp, cool whip and dissolved gelatin in a bowl and pour it in 3 pie crusts. Garnish with walnuts. Let it set in the refrigerator for atleast 4 hours.

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