stuffed vegetable recipes Archives | Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes

Daas Bhindi ~Stuffed Okra

Alka Keswani — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:35:08 +0000

Now that IPL is finally over(Thank God),overlooking all the crap that surrounds it now, I am in better control of myself and the kid.Though this year I managed to keep myself away from most of the matches, our little one ,who is a keen follower , cried buckets as soon as he SNIFFED the fishy fall of Mumbai Indians, a team he supported like anything, so much that he even insisted on wearing the MI T-shirt ,every time his favorite team was playing.I was disappointed too, but then the tender mind of our little fellow was deeply hurt and despite of our efforts to make him feel better and to make him understand that it was just a game after all..he sulked , cried and ditched the rest of match as soon as he saw the fall of third wicket.I wonder why he is so sensitive , and wish he was bit sporty ..Sigh ! Wishes ..Ahh…I always have a never ending list of wishes, ranging from some good sleep to good food, from going on a vacation, to locking myself in the comfort of my home, refusing to go out, socialize or be entertained.I don’t know why I am like that, I only know…I AM LIKE THAT ONLY 😉 Wishes..I wish I have none…I wish I was never tempted by a ravishing Chaat item, which always seems to be calling my name..I wish I was able to curb my anger over all the little issues…I wish there was a better way for politicians to get richer than to hog all the money of taxpayers .I wish there was some way to keep a check on rash drivers …I wish there was more hue and cry for the inflation in the country rather than being hooked to the controversial Marriages.I wish that women be known for better work than for spying .I wish some honest reality show regarding sting operations on politicians be aired on National TV..and imagine each politician to be ripped off, for its illegal deeds,rather than those..those.. uhhh..whatever…teenagers..who shout from rooftops that they trust their partners and still opt for spying on them(Emotional Atyachaar). I know I know, what you might be wishing now…as to when will I wind up my wish list and jump over to the recipe..well your wish is my command, so here we go…. Daas Bhindi or Bharwan Bhindi or Stuffed Okra is a simple way of relishing okra, since it calls for cooking okra stuffed with simple spices, full of aroma and simple, but amazing flavor. Print Dhaas Bhindi ~Stuffed Okra Rating 5.0 from 1 reviews Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 30 mins Serves: 2-3 Fresh Okra stuffed with Indian spices and pan cooked.A simple side dish to relish with staple Dal rice. Ingredients 200 gm of Firm and fresh okra 4-6 Garlic cloves(depends upon your taste) 1 Green chilly Salt to taste ¼ tsp turmeric powder 2-21/2 tsp coriander powder ¼ tsp red chilly powder(add or reduce as per your liking) A pinch of hing(optional) Oil to shallow fry Method Rinse okra well with water, wipe dry with a clean cloth .Tip off the ends and make a slit all through the length of okra. In a plate , mix together all the ingredients (chop the garlic and green chillies finely), except oil for shallow frying. Now stuff this dry masala in each okra, and be careful about the quantity of masala you stuff.You obviously do not want to fall short of spices and go around preparing second batch, thereby messing up the whole flavor, as some okra might end up being more spicier than others. When all the okras are stuffed (Phew !), heat a skillet or frying pan with a big diameter and a flat surface, and grease it well if using nonstick, or pour about 1-2 tsp of oil if using iron pan or skillet or griddle. Carefully place the okras side by side and shallow fry those on high heat for few seconds, give the pan a shake or so, so that the okras do not stick to the bottom of pan. If needed, toss the okra carefully with a spatula, taking care not to break or mush these. Lower the heat to the minimum and let the okras cook till the stuffing gets nice brown colour.Do toss the green beauties now and then and do not let the okras turn dark brown, or else the texture will be lost and you might end up with "kadak" bhindi..a no-no in comparison to its stuffed, soft and flavorful avatar. Enjoy this side dish with Dal and rice or with dal and roti. 2.2.1 Other Dhaas Veggies: Dhaas Shimla Mirch Dhaas Meha(Apple Gourds)

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Daas Meha ~Stuffed Apple Gourds

Alka Keswani — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:54:48 +0000

It’s very hard for my brain to work when my mind is hovering around the drops of sweat trickling from head to toe…Its sooooooo very Hot around here. And come to think of it, the people on other side of globe celebrate summers 😉 Well summers reminded me of summer vacation of my kid and everyone around pops the same question at my face…”what is your travel plan this vacation”? Traveling for me is as cumbersome as it could be, but its more torture for the people moving with me (With people I mean, generally Hubby). Local Trains are too crowded to hang around with a cranky kid; Mail trains takes too long to reach to the destination. Flights, Buses and four wheelers are simply out of question (Severe Motion sickness problem for me), two wheeler is not a good choice in Monsoon (though I love the idea) and scorching summer. The only option left, if we plan something nearby, is a Three wheeler. Sounds crazy?? But hey, I so much love this Dhinchaak mode of transport, that sometimes I tease hubby dear to purchase that one, instead of a car. Now the mode of transport is already a big issue to be dealt with, while deciding where to go, upon that our pampered son just could not adjust with any delays, be it for drinking water or eating meals. His requests for peeing has to be addressed immediately, and the place where we are visiting should not be hot, humid, too cold, and no rains around. The water should be safe to drink, the food available should be non spicy and not floating in oil, the place should be interesting enough to hold his attention (which means it should have loads of games around), and it should not be a water park (Yeah my son is not at all fond of swimming). Phew…Hubby dear goes crazy with his too demanding wife and kid, and this results in very few outings for the family 🙁 So now while sitting at home, I can only talk about food, and that i must do quickly, since today we are discussing one of my most favorite Side Dish, Dhaas Meha Meha or Tinda, also called Indian round gourd or apple gourd or Indian Baby Pumpkin, is a squash-like cucurbit grown for its immature fruit, a vegetable especially popular in South Asia This unique squash-like gourd is native to India, very popular in Indian curry and many other gourmet dishes. Green colored, apple sized fruits are flattish round in shape and 50-60 grams in weight.(Source : Wiki ) The word Daas roughly means a whole, stuffed vegetable like potato, okra, bittergourd, capsicum etc, generally a dry dish (though sometimes the cooked stuffed veggies are dunked in a curry or gravy) , served along with regular Dal rice, making the meal a wholesome one. Here is how the stuffing looks like : And this is how stuffed ones look like 😉 And finally the cooked ones (Kindly excuse the picture quality ) Print Daas Meha ~Stuffed Apple Gourds Ingredients Apple Gourds or Meha 3-4 Onions 3 Green chillies 3 Garlic 4 cloves Coriander leaves , a handful Ginger about an Inch size Salt as per taste Turmeric powder ¼ tsp Coriander powder 1 tsp Garam masala powder ¼ tsp(optional) Oil for shallow frying Method Wash, peel and slit the gourds making a Cross. The slit should be more than half way of gourds Add some salt and keep aside for 10 minutes Meanwhile peel and grate onion, pound green chillies, coriander leaves, garlic and ginger(optional) in mortar pestle(Hamam Dasta) Mix grated onion, and pounded mixture, add some salt, and dry masalas Stuff the gourds with this mixture and Shallow fry with minimum oil, on a low flame . Keep the remaining stuffing aside. Keep on tossing the gourds at regular intervals When these change bit of colour, add the remaining stuffing and saute again on bit high flame.If the mixture tend to stick to the bottom of pan, add few spoons of water Now lower the flame and place a lid over the pan. Keep some weight over the lid (e.g a heavy utensil) Cook till stuffing changes its colour, and the gourds are cooked( prick with a knife to check whether the knife slides in smoothly) This could take anywhere between15-30 minutes (depending upon the size and tenderness of gourds) . If in hurry, these could be pressure cooked (Follow the same procedure, first let the stuffed gourds change their colour, then add remaining mixture and cook again for a minute,then add 6-7 spoons of water and close the lid of pressure cooker .Wait till 1 whistle and then put it on Sim flame for 1-2 minutes) Could be served as a side dish with Dal chaawal, or Moong 3.5.3251 This absolute favorite of mine goes to Easycrafts of Simple Indian food, for her WYF-Side dish event Ps:I am also sharing this Favorite dish of mine with Cilantro’s JFI-Jhiva for Cilantro event. Jhiva for Ingredients OR JFI was conceptualized by Indira of the celebrated blog Mahanandi.

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Dhaas karela

Alka Keswani — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:12:39 +0000

Karela or bittergourd…..the name invites almost similar reaction from majority of people and that is Eeeeeks…..it’s so bitter!But the good thing is that there are many many lovers of this bitter but therapeutic, wonderful and tasty(yes it IS TASTY) karelas. Bittergourds , not only stimulates digestion but also helps to some extent in regulating glucose levels in the body.That is why the juice of karela is consumed by many diabetic people Well…This recipe of Dhaas karela comes from Bina Makhija,whose recipes I love to try, coz they are appetizing, easy to follow and do not call for exotic ingredients .Thanks Bina for this wonderful recipe. Another recipe by bina, posted on this site is Mirani Khichdi Her recipe is slightly different from what I regularly prepare, so I thought to give it a try and honestly speaking the results were really good.The two changes that I made in her recipe ,were…I used karelas without peeling them (they do taste more bitter, but I like them that way) and I didn’t used hing (because I am always scared that hing will change the whole flavour of the dish ) Print Dhaas karela Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 50 mins Serves: 2-3 bitter gourds stuffed with tasty onion and garlic mixture Ingredients Karela (Bitter Gourd) ¼ kg Onion Large 2 nos Garlic 4 cloves Ginger 1’’pc Green Chillies 2-3 Tomatoes pureed 2 med Hing (Optional) A pinch Chilli powder 1 tsp Coriander powder 1 tbsp Turmeric powder ½ tsp Cumin powder (Jeera pdr)1 tsp Garam Masala pdr ½ tsp Salt To taste Oil and for frying 4 tbsp Coriander leaves 1 tbsp Method Peel the Karela’s (I preferred skin intact), slit them in middle and salt them for about 30 minutes. Wash them and deep fry them till slight golden (Do not brown them) and keep aside. Grate onions on the manual grater and strain the water completely through a strainer, do not squeeze let it drain on its own Make a paste of ginger, garlic and green chillies in pestle and mortar and keep it aside. For stuffing take a deep bottom pan, put oil, when little hot add hing Now add grated onions and sauté till dry and slightly golden .You can add salt at this time to dry the moisture in the onions Add ginger, garlic and green chilli paste, sauté again for sometime Now add all the dry masalas and continue to saute, now add tomato puree and stir, let it cook till the oil separates Once cooked add coriander leaves, mix it well and remove from heat. When this mixture cools stuff in the Karela’s, secure them by tying them with a thread and shallow fry with little oil or no oil in a non-stick pan till nice and golden. (Onions have to be grated in the manual grater by hand, do not blend or grind in the grinder it will lose the taste completely) 2.2.1

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