Simple Gluten Free Kitchen

Punjabi Style Bharwan Tinda

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Living in Canada, I find myself often dreaming about Indian summers. Of heat and aam ka panna, of mangoes and mulberries, of kakari (indian cuke) and tinda. While a common summer vegetable in South Asia, tinda  is not all that known in western world. But with the growing demand for ethnic vegetables a lot of Canadian farmers are successfully growing such exotic vegetables, and make them available to local food stores. Tinda belongs to gourd family and  is known by different names as Apple Gourd or Indian Baby Pumpkin. It grows on a vine, are round, green with a smooth skin, and looks very much like a green apple, but has a squash like taste, texture and seeds inside.

 

First published July 2016. Republished with updated content August 2020

 

Tinda is regarded as a low calorie vegetable, yet extremely filling due to their high fiber content. It is very mild and soothing for intestinal tract and contains many  anti-inflammatory agents, which help in controlling blood pressure, heart diseases, and strokes and prevents cancer formation. It is also one of those vegetables with high water content that gets squishy when cooked and most people dislike it for precisely this reason. If cooked right it is a standout dish on its own.

Tinda is a very versatile vegetable that can be used in a variety of preparations. It is commonly added to lentil stews, curries, for making koftas, or very often cooked in a stir-fry. The ones those are small and tender are  usually cooked whole, with a four-way split in the middle and filled with spices, Ike I did in this Punjabi style bharwan (stuffed) tinda recipe. The result is so enticing, that it is difficult to express in words.

 

steps to make stuffed tinda

 

Cooking tindas in oven

 

This punjabi style stuffed tinda is easy to prepare.  Firstly, choose small (around 2 1/2″) and tender tindas which need no peeling. You can make this dish in a an average size skillet, the key is gently stirring without breaking up the tindas. You can also make it in oven, but it will take more time and doesn’t look very appealing in my opinion.  Secondly, they need to be cooked just till they get soft but still hold together and retain a bite. The gravy for stuffed tindas is of coating consistency. It’s a great side dish that I love to serve alongside any lentil or meat dish with hot crisp chapati and lassi (yogurt drink).

 

 

 

Print
Punjabi Style Stuffed Tinda

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 kg (15-18) small tinda
  • 300g tomatoes
  • 1 3/4 cup sliced onion
  • 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro leaves
    • spice mix for Tinda
  • 1 1/4 tsp garam masala
  • 2 1/4 tbsp. coriander powder
  • 1 3/4 tsp Salt
  • 2 tsp amchur (dried mango) powder
  • 2 tsp red chill powder
  • 2 tsp roasted cumin powder
  • 3/4 tsp turmeric powder

Instructions

  1. Wash the tindas under running water rubbing with your hands.
  2. Slice the top and end off, just a thin sliver.
  3. With a sharp knife cut the top crosswise. Make sure the cut does not cut the tinda into pieces
  4. In a bowl, mix all the dry spices well.
  5. Stuff about 1 tsp of spice mix inside the insertions made on tindey.
  6. Put oil in a skillet, heat over medium heat. Add onions and saute till soft,and golden.
  7. Add ginger garlic paste and cook for 1 minute.
  8. Add all tindas to skillet, arranging in one layer and cover with lid.
  9. After 5 -7 minutes, turn them gently with a big spoon, spatula or tongs.
  10. Cook further for 5-7 minutes, then add tomatoes and leftover spice mix.
  11. Carefully stir everything together.
  12. Cover the skillet and cook for10 minutes or more, until tindas are fork tender and masala sticks t them (cooking time depends on the size of tindas and the cooking pan).
  13. Gently fold everything (a couple of them might break, that's ok). Switch off the flame and keep covered for 5 minutes
  14. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with crisp rotis and curry or lentil on side.
    15. To cook in oven.
  15. Preheat oven at 400 deg.
  16. Put oil in a glass baking dish. Add in sliced onion and ginger garlic paste.
  17. Bake in oven for 10 minutes.
  18. Arrange spice stuffed tindas in the tray, add tomatoes and leftover spice mix. Mix everything together.
  19. Bake for 20 minutes, stir half way through.
  20. Cover with foil, bake for further 10 minutes or until a fork pierced into a tinda easily gets in.
https://www.simpleglutenfreekitchen.com/2020/08/punjabi-style-bharwan-tinda.html

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Hello.I am looking for a flour to make roti with.
    Have you got any suggestions. The ones I have tried so far are difficult to roll out.
    Thnks.
    Sue

    Reply

  6. Would love to try this. Looks amazing. Where might I find this exotic veggie? Have not seen them in my Whole Foods in Naperville, IL. Would canned work as well? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply

  7. This is totally new to me; thank you for sharing! I have to look for it when I’m out shopping. I love the sound of a low calorie yet filling vegetable. : ) I also enjoy walking down memory lane with you through food and getting a sense of the food you enjoyed growing up.

    Reply

  8. Tinda is religiously prepared food in my house till today in every tinda season. As per mom, my grandpa use to love this stuffed version a lot. Everything is perfect and looking absolutely delicious, only addition in our recipe is handful of fresh coriander leaves and we make a coarse paste along with tomatoes, garlic and all other indian slices. When you see similar preparation, we feel connected with that food and with all the beautiful memories with that food and I love that sync. Super delicious, beautifully presented excellent share dear friend .😘😊👍

    Reply

  10. I think we punjabi’s have same taste of dishes in all over the world but their way of preparing is slightly different and tinda is one of our family fav dish.. I usually prepare dry or curry both one but yours stuffed tinda recipe looks more interesting, worth to try, thanks for sharing Balvinder 🙂

    Reply

  14. I’ve never heard of tinda but I would love to try it if I ever find it, I am always curious and open to try new foods. I especially like your spice mix, I might use that for other veggies, I bought that amchur powder some months ago, but never really knew what to do with it. 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Adina, amchur powder is used in many north Indian recipes to add a tangy and slightly sour flavor. You can seven sprinkle on grilled veggies for a better taste.

      Reply

  20. I’ve never heard of tinda. but they look and sound so enticing. I love this recipe because all of the ingredients are ones I always have on hand. Not sure if I could find tinda, but I imagine I could substitute many other root vegetables or even sweet potato?

    Reply

  21. Thank you for this interesting post. Tinda is new to me but I will be on the lookout for it now! The recipe looks delicious and intriguing! I am quite a fan of Indian cuisine!

    Reply

  23. I love stuffed eggplant & okra. I first thought tinda and tendli is same. But no its different. I am gonna look for it next time I visit Patel brothers

    Reply

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