Cilantro Stuffed Onions (Bharela Kanda Nu Shaak)

This dish goes back a long time, i was first introduced to this dish during my visit to my aunts place in porbandar during summer vacations.  In Gujarati onions are also known as "Dungri" or "Kanda" and is one of the most important food in our diet. Onions have lots of health benefits including it reduces the risk of forming blood clots which is one of the main cause of heart attack. More info on onions you can find here . We make this dish once in a while as it takes little more time than usual to prepare this dish, but in the end all the efforts are worth while. I usually use small baby onions or small red onions to prepare this dish, avoid using large onions as it will require lot of time for them to get cooked. I love to have this dish with bhakri and jaggery...perfect dinner for a cold evening :) The below recipe serves 4.


Sending this dish to JFI-Cilantro hosted by Cilantro originally started by Indira also sending this to Village Special an event started by Shama. Sending this dish to Mom's Most Favorite Recipe event hosted by Shama as this dish is one of most favorite of my mom..:))

Ingredients for stuffing:
12 to 15 small baby onions or small red onions
1 cup chickpea flour or besan
1/2 cup cilantro finely chopped
1 tsp oil
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sugar
1 pinch of asafoetida
1 pinch of baking soda
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil for cooking



Procedure:

• In a vessel mix all the stuffing ingredients well and keep aside.
• Slit the onions vertically and fill in the stuffing, make sure you do not put more pressure or else the onions will come apart.
• Similarly fill in all the onions with the stuffing. There will be little stuffing left dont worry we will be using the same while cooking.
• In a heavy bottom pan, use non stick pan, heat about 1 tbsp of oil and slowly add in the stuffed onions one by one.
• Cover the pan with a dish or a plate and cook on slow heat for about 20 to 25 mins until they are half way cooked. If required add little water in the dish.
• Do stir the onions every few mins just to make sure they dont get burnt. Stir it very carefully so as not to tear then apart.
• Now add in the remaining stuffing masala and again cover and cook for around 20 mins or until done. 
• Serve hot with bhakri or rotis.

This dish is off to Flavors Of Gujarat event by Nayna