Tindas, spicy and stuffed...

Totally Indian, seasonal vegetable. Enjoy it while's its in the market

Spicy stuffed  tindas

What would you say for Tinda in English?

I would not know.  It looks  like a green apple, with a bit less shine. It has seeds that are like those of  musk melon. The texture , once you chop it, is like that of a pumpkin or squash.

My husband bought some , saying it was a real long time since he’d eaten it. Wanted it made like his mother used to make it.

I never made it because when I  returned home after  spending six months in Canada, my daughter, then eight years old, said she would never eat it.Her grandma—my mother-in-law who is no more—had given her tinda every day of those six months, she swore !

While that may not be true,  this  seasonal vegetable has people who love it!

I don’t know how she made it .  The manual  that comes with Hawkins Pressure Cooker in India  used to have  the recipe of a Dahiwale tinda—tinda made in yoghurt. I used to follow that one.

But since I could not find it, I made it from recall. And it  tasted great with rotis, in  the dabba (lunch box) I took to work today.

The trick to  pick up the best tindas, is to go for the lush green colour, skin without patches, and light in weight. Heavy tinda means seeds inside, and they are not easy to eat, and even more difficult to separate and discard.

Peeled tindas

Spices form the dry masala

Ingredients

Tindas – 7 or 8

Salt-1 teaspoon

Turmeric- 1 teaspoon

 Red Chilli powder-1 teaspoon

 Powdered saunf-1 teaspoon

Dry mango powder- Half a teaspoon

Asoefietida –a  pinch

Kasoori methi(dry fenugreek leaves)—a teaspoon full

Yoghurt-Half a cup full

Cooking oil-3 teaspoons full

Take off the skin of the tinds with a scraper, and slit from the top, the way you would to quarter them—but stop mindway, so that you have two slits from the top.

Mix all the dry ingredients, and stuff the tindas.

Stuffed and Microwaved

Turn them around gently

 Microwave them for three or four minutes

In a frying pan, heat the refined oil, and when it begins to smoke, add the stuffed tindas. Stir gently, so that the oil coats all  the tindas well.

I had some ONION  POWDER handy, so I sprinkled some when I was sautéing the tindas. You can use onion slices or chopped onions , or skip it. Same goes for tomatoes.

And for those who would like to skip onions, grated ginger at this stage, is a good thing to add.

Place a lid on top, and  cook for 12 minutes, openling and gently turning the tindas around every two or three minutes, till they are done, on medium flame.

Reduce the flame and add the whisked yoghurt, keep stirring till very little of it is left.

Switch off.  Move them to a serving bowl or plate, and garnish and serve. Goes well with as a vegetable side dish with rice, as well as with rotis/paranthas.

Lovely texture , good to see and great to taste

  

The best Dahiwale Tinda I've had has without a doubt been  at Hotel Divyadeep , a vegetarian restaurant-cum-hotel in Sector 22, Chandigarh, where they make it in pure ghee, throw in some cashew nuts and raisins as well.