Creamy Stuffed Tomatoes

Tomatoes.. I gotta have a bunch in my refrigerator no matter what. Plus they act as a contingency for other cooking plans and recipe disasters. In fact I always find my family members wondering why they appear in every dish I make. Heck, I could throw them into my green salad, who cares if its not green anymore. Contingency because, when I’m in one of those what-do-I-make confusion states or when I’m just cooking for myself, I settle down for a plain good old tomato and black pepper sandwich. Nothing beats that!

So when JFI for April was tomatoes hosted by RP of My Workshop, I jumped up and was like… tomato sandwich? Nah…..I decided on Creamy Stuffed Tomatoes because its so different and my beloved tomato stands out in the sauce like a lovely setting sun in the sky. My, am I getting poetic today or what? I swear it the tomato effect!!!

This recipe is truly a fusion recipe and a first for my blog! Really, my mum takes all the credit for this lick-your-fingers invention. She intended to make her stuffed green peppers and because I had accidentally chopped up her small hand picked dainty peppers in my salad, she decided to take revenge on my stash of tomatoes. The sauce came along with some further tweaks to the recipe and we sat down licking our fingers and laughing on our little veggie war!!!

Ingredients

10-12 medium sized tomatoes cored
Note: Tomatoes that are called ‘Globe’ type are medium-sized, firm, juicy, and like ‘beefsteak’ variety are good raw or cooked. We need tender ones for this recipe and a slight pogginess in the tomatoes disqualifies them from this dish.











Find single serving sized tomatoes to use since we want to stuff them and serve them whole. To core a tomato, use the tip of a sharp knife or peeler to make a shallow cut all around the stem end, and then pop out the core. Scoop out the seeds and the pulp with a grapefruit spoon.

Filling:
2 medium sized potatoes boiled and mashed
75g khoya/paneer
Salt to taste
½ tsp Chilli powder

Sauce:
2-3 tblsp ghee/oil
1 tsp jeera
1 cup (250ml) white sauce or roux
1 large onion finely chopped
100ml tomato puree
Salt to taste
Chilli powder
Pinch of turmeric (to give it a creamish color)
½ tsp dhania powder


1. Combine well the ingredients for the filling. Fill into the deseeded and cored tomatoes. The paneer/khoya can really be excluded if desired, but I feel they add a softness to the filling mixture.

2. Saute the jeera and onions in the ghee until the onions are golden. Add the tomato puree and all the spices except the roux and sauté for a further few minutes. Add the roux when the onions and puree are well cooked with the spices.

Note: To avoid the roux being lumpy, when combining with the milk, it is important that the milk be added very hot and in small quantities to the roux while stirring, to ensure proper mixing.

3. Arrange the stuffed tomatoes in a baking tray. Preferably they should be served in the same casserole/tray. Pour over the creamy sauce and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 15-20 minutes to allow the tomatoes to absorb all the moisture.

4. Serve piping hot with Naan or a plain parantha. Its great with a plain phulka too!!