Stuffed Kovakkai/ Tindora

     First, I would like to wish all my readers a Happy Holiday Season. It is always a good time to try some new dishes. My friend Sandhya recently shared this recipe. I made some slight improvisations to her receipe as I shallow fried (arguably for the health benefits) the tindora instead of the recommended deep frying. Everyone in my family enjoyed this dish and hope you would like it as well.

 
Ingredients:

12 Kovakkai (Tindora)
oil as required
salt as required

Stuffing:

2 cloves of garlic
pinch of turmeric
1/2 tsp of red chilly powder
2-3 tbsp of chutney dhal
salt as required



Preparation:

1.Grind the chutney dhal in to coarse powder and mix all the ingredients above. Crush the garlic or fine chop them and add to the mixture. Add little water and make a paste.

2.Cut the edges off the kovakkai and slit crosswise in the bottom. Stuff them with the paste as required. Add 2 tbsp of oil to the pan, add the stuffed kovakkai to the pan. 

4.Close the lid for 5 minutes and then turn the kovakkai to the other side and allow them to cook. Add 1-2 tbsp of oil and allow the kovakkai to get roasted.
5.Once the kovakkai is roasted, the dish is ready. Enjoy by itself or with roti.                               

Halwa Poori

  Halwa poori is a very popular North Indian breakfast. Recently we found a good Pakistani restaurant in this neighborhood that serves poori halwa on weekend mornings and so my desire to experiment this at home was revived. My family loved this refreshing combination even though they are used to poori bhaaji or chole poori

 Ingredients:

3 cups of wheat flour
1 cup of water 
1 tbsp  of oil
oil for deep frying
salt as required

To prepare Halwa:

1 cup of rava (Semolina)
3 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
handful of cashew nuts
few raisins
1/4 cup of ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 tsp of cardamom powder 




Preparation: 

1.Mix the wheat flour, salt , 1 tbsp of oil and add water. Knead well enough to make a dough. Keep aside for 20 minutes.
2. Make golf-ball sized balls out of the dough. Roll it out.
3.Heat oil in the kadai, fry the rolled dough on both sides. Press gently with flat ladle on one side so that poori starts to fluff. Turn to the other side till it golden brown. Hot and fluffy pooris are ready
4.Add a tbsp of ghee to heavy bottomed vessel and add nuts and raisins. Roast them till they turn golden brown. Be cautious with the raisins and remove before it turns dark.

5.Transfer them to a plate and add the rava to the ghee. Roast them slightly till nice aroma comes.

6.Add water to the pan and bring it to boil. Mix sugar and as the sugar dissolves completely add rava and keep stirring so that there is no lumps.They cook very quickly. 

7.Add the ghee and cook in low flame and keep stirring. Transfer the nuts and cardamom powder.  Mix them well. Halwa is ready.

8.Serve poori with halwa.