Stuffed with goodness

It’s an age-old tradition where the parents struggle to convince their children that a certain vegetable is good for them. There will be endless tactics they use like bribing them with a toy, show something interesting or make-up stories. But the one trick that almost works is when the vegetable or ingredient is stuffed in something else — it becomes a magical item that almost everyone falls for.

With the culinary world taking over in terms of creative dishes and new ideas, this age old tactic is taking the food world by storm. Stuffed food and its unimaginable creations are impressing both the chefs and consumers equally.

While stuffed ‘paratha’ is something that we are used to consuming as a daily meal, food enthusiasts are experimenting with other ingredients to make it look interesting and create a wholesome dining experience.

Jyothi Rajesh, an entrepreneur, enjoys stuffed vegetables with minced ingredients to give it a new twist. She says, “With the regular dishes that we have every day, a stuffed dish adds a fun element to the dining table. If you’re having a dinner party, a dish like this makes it so much easier for the guest to have and makes work less for the cook as well.”

She created a dish called ‘Barith marchavangun Kashmiri stuffed chillies’ for her family. “It was a hit at home because it amalgamated a lot of flavours in one bite. The pomegranate powder that I used to create the snack took it to another level. It was peppy, fun and make the dining experience a rather different one.”

If you are a food enthusiast, finding recipes of stuffed vegetable on television or the internet is not difficult. Every now and then, you might find tomatoes that are stuffed with different ingredients, baked and enjoyed. Jyothi Varne, a professional, also tried the recipe that she named ‘Bharwaan tamatar’. She stuffed the fruit with mashed potato, grated ‘paneer’ and ‘khoya’ that was further complimented with creamy cashew nut gravy. She says, “One of the things to keep in mind while preparing a dish like this is to enjoy that the tomato doesn’t overcook or that you don’t stir the gravy when placed in the oven. The stuffing will surely spill out and the tomato may disintegrate. But the one I prepared was  absolutely wonderful and my family and I enjoyed it with hot ‘parathas’ and ‘kulchas’!”

Following certain ‘mom hacks’ is Parvathy Nair who uses ingredients to feed her two-year-old. She explains, “My son does not like almonds, so I powder them and sprinkle them in almost everything he has. Similarly, I stuff certain other ingredients in a dish to make it appealing to the family.”

She recently prepared ‘Bell pepper and sausage roll’ which she says was a success at home. “It wasn’t too difficult to make and my husband took some to work for lunch. It was a wholesome meal and gave a regular meal its own character. With stuffed food, one can enjoy different elements on a plate, yet one can taste the individual flavours that the dish offers.” Since we are all looking for new ways to enjoy our food, stuffed food makes for an interesting choice.