Meena's Taste Mantra

Bharwan Tinda Masala | Dhaas Meyah - Stuffed Apple Gourds!

Tinda | Apple Gourd is a great veggie as it has a host of health benefits. Being high in water content, this veggie is usually consumed during Summers. More over it helps to keep diabetes in check, reduce bad cholesterol and also has anti aging properties. It is said to provide relief to joints too. Source of this information is GOOGLE!!!! We love this round gourd and out of curiosity wanted to see what nutrients it has and we were pretty impressed!

Amma has been wanting to make the Stuffed version since quite some time with as little oil as possible. She decided to do a partial pressure cook. I got some Tindas yesterday...they were not that tender to Amma's liking but still she decided to try out this dish and we relished it today.

Bharwan Tinda Masala is a NorthIndian Cuisine especially relished by Punjabis and Sindhis. Infact Sindhis call this Dhaas (Stuffed) Meyah (Tinda). Whatever the name, we love it!

INGREDIENTS

4 Tinda | Apple Gourd

To taste Salt

2 tsp Oil

1 tblsp Fresh Dhania | Coriander Leaves, finely chopped

For Stuffing

3 Onions

1" Adrak | Ginger

3 Green Chillies, roughly chopped

2 cloves Lahsun | Garlic

2 tblsp Fresh Dhania | Coriander Leaves, finely chopped

1/4 tsp Haldi | Turmeric Powder

1/4 tsp Garam Masala Powder

Dhania | Coriander Powder

METHOD

Wash and peel Tinda. Make plus like slit across 3/4th of the Tinda. Rub some salt and keep aside for 10 minutes.
Peel and grate onion. Roughly crush garlic, adrak, green chillies and dhania in a mortar.
In a mixing bowl, add grated onion, roughly crushed paste, haldi, garam masala, dhania powder and salt. Mix well.
Stuff the Tinda and keep aside the remaining stuffing.
In pressure cooker pan, heat oil and gently place stuffed tinda, with space between two. Reduce flame to medium. At regular intervals turn the tinda to ensure they do not get burnt.
Once tinda starts to change colour, add remaining stuffing and give a stir on high flame.
After two minutes, add 6 to 7 tblsp of water and pressure cook for a whistle. Then reduce the flame and keep on simmer for a minute before switching off gas.
Once pressure is released, open the cooker and transfer stuffed Tinda to a serving plate.
Garnish with fresh dhania.
Serve hot with Rice and Roti and any Dal.

Note:

You can cook stuffed Tinda in any kadhai with a lid too. For doing so, after adding remaining stuffing, add 2 tblsp of water and cover cook on low flame for 10 to 15 minutes. Check with a fork to see if Tinda is cooked. Tinda if tender will take much less time to cook!

We have used:

1. Borges Light Olive Oil

2. Tata Salt Lite

3. Everest Royal Garam Masala

About C R Meena

(c) 2014 - 2016, Meena's Taste Mantra is the result of my ardent desire to share my recipes, with all who appreciate and celebrate food. These recipes are as a result of 60 years of cooking experience, influenced by tradition and exposure to various concepts, new recipes/ingredients and a passion for cooking - adapting to healthier alternatives.