Forget the zucchini boats or even the stuffed peppers ! This is a homegrown Odia dish that is as good as the imported ones. A rich stuffing of onions, freshly grated coconut and broken cashews lend this dish a sweet and rich taste. Some folks avoid adding potatoes to the stuffing but I just cant do without it.
And moreover this is one native dish that really looks beautiful without much effort on the presentation. I mean I have been working on my food photography skills to be able to click some decent photos of the food that I so painstakingly prepare. While I do not buy the logic of making food so good that one wants to take it home instead of eating it, I want my food to look presentable to a given degree. Sadly our dishes lacks the right amount of color but make up for it with the great taste.
Preparation Time - 30 mins
Ingredients -
- 1 medium sized snake gourd (chachindra)
- 3 tsp oil
- a pinch of salt
For the stuffing -
- 2 medium sized potatoes (boiled, peeled and lightly mashed)
- 1 large onion
- 1 cup grated coconut (chopped into medium pieces)
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1-2 green chilis (chopped into small pieces)
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/3 tsp red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp coriander powder
- 2 pinch garam masala
- 2 pinch turmeric
- 2 tsp oil
- salt to taste
Preparation - Wash and peel the snake gourd. Chop into 3 inch long pieces. Hollow them out by removing the mushy insides.
Cooking - Heat 2 tsp oil in a wok. Add cumin seeds and chopped green chillis. Wait for them to start spluttering.
Follow with the grated ginger and fry for 1 minute. Add the chopped onions and fry till red on the edges.
Add all the powdered masalas and fry for 2 mins. Finally add the potatoes and stir fry for a couple of minutes till everything is nicely mixed.
Stuff this into the hollowed out snake gourd.
Heat a wok or skillet on a low flame. Add the remaining oil. Place the stuffed snake gourd pieces on the skillet and sprinkle a little salt over them. Cover with a lid. Remove the lid at regular intervals and turn them on their sides.
Let it cook on a low flame till completely done. Remove from the skillet .
Garnish with some more grated coconut and cilantro. Serve hot with white rice and dal .
A yummy vegetarian fare.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your recipes. Your blog is simply superb great work. Can you if possible list all the recipes of 56 bhog of lord jagganatha in one place. thanks once again
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