Recipes: Food stuffed with the right ingredients

T-Mag Saturday 16/March/2019 07:32 AM
By: Times News Service
Recipes: Food stuffed with the right ingredients

STUFFED PEPPERS
Tender bell peppers stuffed with a flavourful beef mix turns out to be the perfect meal for you and your family.
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 450g ground beef
• 2 finely chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 bell peppers, tops and cores removed
• Freshly chopped parsley, for garnish
Preparation
• Preheat oven to 400°.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Cook onion until soft, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in tomato paste, tomatoes and garlic and cook until tomatoes soften.
• Add ground beef and cook for about 12 minutes.
• Season with oregano, salt, and pepper.
• Place peppers cut side-up in a greased baking dish.
• Spoon beef mixture into each pepper and cover baking dish with foil.
• Bake until peppers are tender, about 40 minutes.
• Garnish with parsley before serving.

STUFFED BITTER GOURD(BHARWAN KARELA)
A classic Indian recipe of stuffed bitter gourds that is baked to leave it healthy and lip smacking.
Ingredients
• 6 bitter gourds — washed, peeled and skin and seeds removed
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp mustard oil
• 1tsp chilli powder
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• Salt as per taste
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp dry mango powder
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
Preparation
• Slice open the sides of each karela and scrape out the flesh and keep aside.
• The karela flesh will be the stuffing.
• Heat mustard oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.Once they splutter, add the onions and saute till
golden brown.
• Once browned , add the ginger- garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes. Now stir in the mango powder, fennel, coriander, chilli, salt and turmeric.Mix well and add the bitter gourd flesh.
• Cook for about 5 minutes and sprinkle water time and again so that the spices do not burn.
• Remove from heat and let it cool.
• Once cooled, use a spoon or your hands and stuff the bitter gourds one by one with equal amounts of the mixture.
• Press the stuffing into the karelas/bitter gourds. You can use a thread to wrap around each one
of the karelas to help hold their stuffing in.
• To cook the bitter gourd, place them in an greased oven tray and cook in the preheated oven for 30 minutes .at 170c until soft and browned all over.

HUMMUS STUFFED CUCUMBER CUPS
A healthy, no oil snack thats refreshing and quick to whip.
Ingredients
• 3 cucumbers
• Hummus: 1/2 tin (readymade)
• 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
Preparation
• Wash and peel cucumbers. Cut them into 1 inch long pieces.
• Using a small spoon, scoop out the insides of the pieces to make a cavity about 1/2 inch deep.
• Sprinkle salt and on the pieces.
• Place a dollop of hummus in the cucumber cavity.
• Arrange the cups on a platter, sprinkle some chilli powder on them and serve.

MOZZARELLA STUFFED CHERRY TOMATOES
Cherry tomatoes stuffed with creamy mozzarella and basil are perfect for snacking or a light appetiser for
your guests.
Ingredients
• 200g fresh mozzarella, crumbled
• 3tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
as per taste
• 16 cherry tomatoes
Preparation
• In a bowl, mix the cheese, oil, basil, zest, salt, and pepper.
• Refrigerate for 3 hours before assembling.
• When ready to assemble, slice each tomato in half and scoop out the insides with a teaspoon.
• Sprinkle lightly with salt.
• Fill each tomato half with a teaspoon of the cheese mixture and arrange on a serving tray.
• Serve immediately.

Oneza Tabish is a food blogger, consultant, and columnist based in Oman. She is also the owner of Oman’s popular Facebook group ‘What’s Cooking Oman.’