Baked tomato delight

1 cup chicken mince
4 medium firm red tomatoes
2 tbsp butter
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup cooked rice
2 whole dried red chillies, crushed
2 tbsp oil
6-8 cloves garlic, chopped
½ tsp black pepper powder
4 tbsp tomato puree
½ tsp thyme
¼ cup fresh cream
½ cup cheese, grated
A few threads of saffron

Preheat oven to 180° C. Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds. Heat butter in a pan. Add half of the chopped onions, half of the tomato puree, boiled rice, salt, crushed red chillies and mix well. Take a baking dish and line the base with this rice mixture.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the chopped garlic, the remaining chopped onions and sauté till soft. Add chicken mince and stir. Add a quarter cup of water and let it cook. Add salt, pepper powder, remaining tomato puree, thyme and stir. Cook for two minutes and add half of the fresh cream. Stir and remove from heat, add half the grated cheese. Mix.

Heat another pan, add remaining fresh cream, saffron and the remaining cheese. Mix well.
Preheat oven to 180° C.

Fill the tomato shells with the chicken stuffing and place these on top of the rice layer in the baking dish. Pour the cream sauce over these and bake in a preheated oven at 180° C till the top is lightly browned.

Couscous salad

1 cup couscous
2 large lemons
1 tbsp raisins
2 inch piece ginger, grated
½ tsp roasted cumin powder
1 medium dark skinned cucumber, chopped with peel
1 medium green capsicum, seeded and chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Heat three cups of water till boiling point. Add couscous and cover. Let it stand till couscous is well soaked. Meanwhile, remove rind of one lemon using a fine grater. Extract juice from both lemons. Remove soaked couscous into a deep bowl and fluff up with a fork. Stir in raisins, ginger, lemon rind, cumin powder, lemon juice, cucumber, capsicum, spring onions and salt. Serve immediately.

Steamed fruit pudding with chocolate syrup

8 tbsp butter/ margarine
2 eggs
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 medium apple, peeled and diced
¾ cup cherries, canned, remove pips
2/3 cup refined flour (maida), sieved
½ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp cocoa powder
Chocolate syrup
100 gm plain chocolate
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp butter
½ tsp vanilla essence

Prepare a steamer or half fill a deep saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Grease four individual pudding basins and sprinkle each one with a little of the brown sugar to coat well all over.
Mix apple and cherries. Divide equally among the prepared pudding basins. Place remaining brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Add margarine, eggs, refined flour, baking powder and cocoa and beat until combined and smooth. Spoon mixture into basins and cover each with a double thickness of foil. Steam for about 45 minutes, topping up the boiling water as required, until puddings are well risen and firm.

To make the chocolate syrup, mix chocolate, honey, butter and vanilla in a small saucepan. Heat gently, stirring, until melted and smooth. Run a knife around the edge of each pudding to loosen it. Turn onto individual plates at once. Serve immediately topped generously with chocolate syrup.

Rice and bean stuffed capsicums

4 medium yellow capsicums
1 tbsp olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
¾ cup fresh tomato puree
1 tsp vinegar, optional
¾ tsp dried oregano
3 tbsp raisins
1 cup cooked brown rice
½ cup cooked kidney beans, drained
7-8 almonds, sliced
1 ½ tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 190° C.
Slice off the stem ends of the capsicums and scoop out the seeds. If necessary trim bases so that the capsicums stand upright. Blanch in boiling water for two minutes and pick up with tongs, plunge in cold water and set aside to drain. Heat olive oil in a nonstick pan and add garlic. Add half of the tomato puree. Add vinegar, oregano and raisins. Cook for ten minutes.

Stir in brown rice, kidney beans and almonds. Add salt to taste.
Fill capsicums equally with rice mixture. Set upright in a shallow baking pan. Pour remaining tomato puree into pan around the capsicums.
Preheat oven to 190° C.

Cover with foil and bake at 190° C for thirty minutes. Uncover. Sprinkle capsicums evenly with cheese. Continue to bake till cheese is golden brown.Serve hot.

Cheese and herb patti samosa

For covering
16 samosa pattis or pads

For stuffing:
1 cup processed cheese, grated
½ cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks spring onions greens, chopped
A few sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
¼ tsp red chilli flakes
¼ tsp white pepper powder
¼ tsp dried oregano

Combine processed cheese, mozzarella cheese, onion, spring onion greens, parsley, red chilli flakes, white pepper powder and oregano and lightly mix using a wooden spoon. Take one samosa patti, dampen slightly and place a small portion of cheese stuffing in one corner. Fold into a triangle shape. Seal the edges. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep-fry samosas till crisp and golden. Drain and place on an absorbent paper and serve hot.

Motichoor laddoo

Ingredients:
2½ cups gram flour (besan)
1¾ cups sugar
¼ cup milk
Lemon yellow or orange colour as required
Ghee to deep fry
1 tbsp green cardamom seeds
10 almonds, blanched and slivered
10 pistachios, blanched and slivered

Cook sugar with three cups of water to make syrup of one thread consistency. Add milk and when the scum rises to the top, remove it. Add colour as desired and keep the syrup aside. Make a thin batter of besan with three cups of water (pouring consistency). Add colour as desired.

Heat sufficient ghee in a kadai. Hold a perforated spoon over the hot ghee, pour a little batter over it and pass the batter through it fast into the kadai to make boondis. Fry for about two to three minutes. Remove the boondis using a slotted spoon, drain thoroughly and put into the syrup. Thus use up all the batter. When the boondis have absorbed all the syrup add cardamom seeds and mix gently. Divide into 25 portions and shape each into a laddoo. Garnish with slivers of pistachios or almonds. Cool and store.
These laddoos do not stay fresh for long and should be consumed fast.

Corn and vegetable lollipop

½ cup fresh corn kernels, crushed
10-12 babycorns
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
¼ cup green peas, crushed
1 large potato, boiled and mashed
150 gm yam (suran), boiled and mashed
2 tbsp oil + to deep fry
1 tsp ginger, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
Salt to taste
1 tsp garam masala powder
½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp chaat masala
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 tbsp cornflour

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan. Add ginger, green chillies and sauté. Add carrot, peas and stir. Add crushed corn kernels and salt and stir. Take potato and yam in a bowl and add the cooked carrot-corn mixture and mix. Add garam masala powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, chaat masala, salt to taste, coriander leaves and mix gently. Add cornflour and mix.

Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Take a little mixture, shape into a ball and put in the hot oil to test whether it retains its shapes or breaks. If it breaks add a little more cornflour and mix. If the baby corns are small and thin take whole or split into two vertically.

Divide the prepared mixture equally and shape into balls. Put a ball on top of each babycorn to make a lollipop. Sprinkle some cornflour on it. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep-fry till golden brown. Drain and place on an absorbent paper. Serve hot with Sichuan sauce.

Tomato vada

Ingredients:
8 medium tomatoes, red and firm
5 medium potatoes
4 green chillies, chopped
8-10 cloves garlic
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
5-6 curry leaves
A pinch of asafoetida
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 lemon
For batter:
1¼ cups gram flour (besan)
A small pinch of soda bicarbonate
½ tspoon red chilli powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 tbsp hot oil + to deep fry

Boil, cool, peel and roughly mash potatoes. Grind green chillies and garlic to make a paste. Place mashed potatoes, garlic-green chilli paste, coriander leaves and salt in a bowl. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. As they crackle, add curry leaves and asafoetida. Remove from heat and add to the potato mixture. Add turmeric powder and freshly squeezed juice of one lemon. Mix well. Make eight balls of the above mixture. Set aside.

Take besan in a bowl, add soda bicarbonate, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and hot oil.
Make a batter of coating using water as required. Take tomatoes and slice off tops. Scoop out seeds using a small spoon.
Fill potato mixture in each tomato. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Dip the stuffed tomatoes in the batter and deep fry in medium hot oil till golden brown and crisp. Drain on absorbent paper.
Serve hot tomato vadas with coconut chutney or spicy garlic chutney. You can also serve them sandwiched in pao or bun.