Typically when I try to bake vegetables, which isnt often to begin with, I end up tossing them into a white sauce , grating a lot some sinful cheese over them and popping them in the oven for a few minutes. Thats why I like this recipe- it has an ample amount of cheese but the sauce is tomato based. Quite a nice change from the over done white sauce , if you ask me.
Ingredients:
- 1/2C kidney beans/rajma soaked overnight
- 1 onions (chopped)
- 3 tomatoes(250 gms) -blanched, peeled and chopped
- 4Cfinely chopped cauliflower
- 21/2tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 C (150gms) grated cheese
- 1/2C cream
- 2tbsp oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Pressure cook rajma in 2C water and 1/2tsp salt.Drain excess water after pressure cooking.
- Fry the onions and cauliflower in a little oil till the onions turn golden and the cauliflower is cooked.Add salt and pepper.
- Add tomatoes,ketchup, sauce,rajma to the onion and cauliflower.Check for salt.
- Remove from stove.Add half the grated cheese and mix.
- Trasfer to a baking dish. Top with a mixture of the remaining cheese and cream.Add some salt and pepper to the cheese-cream mixture if you feel the need.
- Bake at 180 deg.C for about 20 mins.
Source: Nita Mehta’s Bakes and Cakes
Notes: It doesnt get any more nutritious than this. You have a source of proteins and a source of vitamins and minerals. All you need is to add a source of carbs (like may be from brown bread) and you have yourself a fairly balanced meal. I had made this dish for dinner when I was home alone one day. The copious quantities I ended up making forced me to eat this without any accompaniments but I think a clear soup and a slice or two of bread would have gone well with it. The tomato base was a refreshing change from the white sauce. I dint have any Worcestershire sauce and so I skipped that entirely and I dont know how much difference that made in the overall taste- I am not particularly well versed with the taste of Worcestershire!Though pepper is normally a great seasoning to use, I found this dish slightly lacking on the seasoning front.I mean it tastes fine but for the Indian palette, used to an over-dose of masalas, it was a little on the bland side. It might have been a good idea to add some garlic at the stage when onions and caulifower was being sauted and cooked.