Stuffed Tomatoes

Making Stuffed tomatoes is the same as Stuffed Peppers. You decide the filling, stuff it in a tomato and cook it till tender. Thats it!!! I normally make stuffed pepper and tomotoes as one dish - creates color in a platter when serving.

Ingredients:

2-3 hard tomotoes(not old ones that get softer)
1 tsp Jeera
1 Onion, chopped fine
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Amchur / Dry Mango powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
4 tblsp Tomato Sauce
Salt to taste

For Stuffing
1 tsp Jeera
1 tsp Dhaniya Powder
2 tsp Sof / Fennel Powder
1 tsp Amchur / Dry Mango powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
2 tsp Roasted Besan / Gram Flour
2-3 medium Potatoes, boiled and mashed coarsly
1 cup Paneer, grated Salt to taste

Method:

Make Stuffing

1. Heat oil in a pan, add jeera and let it splutter. Saute onions till transluscent.

2. Add dhaniya powder, sof, amchur, garam masala and besan. Fry till besan turns golden.

3. Add salt, potatoes and grated paneer. Mix well. This is the stuffing.

For Tomatoes

1. Cut the tops of the tomatoes in circle to remove it as a cap. Carefully remove all the pulp. I use a combination of knife and a sharp spoon to scoop everything out. The pulp that you remove can be used instead of Tomato sauce later on.

2. Stuff them with the stuffing made earlier. You can cover them with their caps and make them whole. I normally stuff tightly and then cut them in half so serving is easy.

3. Heat oil in a pan, add jeera and let it splutter. Saute onions till transluscent.

4. Add turmeric, amchur and garam masala. Fry for 30-40 sec.

5. Add Tomato Sauce (pulp from tomatoes) and 2 tblsp water.

6. Put the stuffed tomatoes carefully in the pan and roll them a little to coat with the masala prepared.

7. Transfer the stuffed tomatoes to an oven-safe baking dish and bake at 375 F for about 10-15 min till the tomato softens. When baking cover the dish with an aluminium foil so that the heat remains instead and they cook faster.