Paneer stuffed Tinda/ cottage cheese stuffed apple gourd

Paneer stuffed Tinda/ cottage cheese stuffed apple gourd 

I use to hate Tinda since I was Kid, and my love did not develope for them till date. But then one day miracle happened, when this thought of paneer stuffing into them came to my mind. And trust me, there wouldn't have been any better way to make this simple and dull tasting vegetable into a yummy and delightful one..

Apple gourd/ Tinda is rich in fibre and is very light too, whereas cottage cheese is full of proteins. Also I tried to keep it health by using fresh cream instead of oil/butter that so very less.

Sharing my experience of turning Tinda recipe upside down ..:)

Ingredients

- 250 grams fresh,raw and washed Tinda

 For filling

- 100 grams paneer/cottage cheese

- I small onion finely chopped

- 1 small tomato finely chopped

- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds

-  freshly chopped coriander 1\2 tbsp

- 1/4 tsp cumin powder

- 1/4 tsp coriander powder

- 1/4 tsp garam masala

- salt to taste

- 1/4 tsp red chilli powder

For assembling the curry

- 1 tbsp fresh cream, I used malai

- 2-3 tbsp of milk

- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

- A pinch of hing/asafoetida 

Process

1. Wash tindas and peel them nicely. Now put a cross mark using a knife. Make sure not to cut through the bottom, whole idea is to create space for filling and not cut it into pieces.

2. Prepare the filing take a bowl add grated/crumbled paneer, tomatoes, onion and other spices to it and mix them well. 

3. With gentle hands stuff the filling in tindas nicely. Ensure not to overfill them else, the Tinda will break into pieces.

4. In a pressure pan, on low flame add cream and cumin seeds along other asafoetida. Let them splutter.

5. Once done, add the remaining filling, sauté for a minute, then add stuffed tindas carefully. 

6. Sprinkle the milk on top and out the pressure pan's lid and cook on low flame for 3 whistles. 

4. Once done , open the kid the result would be still little watery. Now, on low flame cook the tindas without lid for another 1-2 minutes. Ensure, to keep an eye to avoid burning, as the moisture at this stage will keep on reducing by every second.

5. Once you see a nice thick result with minimal/ no water your yummy Tinda curry is ready to enjoy.

Your kids who use to hate tindas will love them, this is my promise. :) serve with hot chapattis or Paranthas.:)