Indian Cuisine - What can I do with Capsicums other than stuffing them with corn or potatoes, cooking them?

Question

with Paneer or potatoes ?

Answer 1

In Maharashtra, they stir fry capsicums with besan flour.  It's easy & delicious:

Ingredients:

4 bell peppers (shimla mirch) - chopped in medium sized pieces

Half oinion - chopped in medium sized pieces

Turmeric - just a small amount

Red Chilli powder - as per taste (hot/mild/mediim)

Dhaniya Jeera poweder (Cumin-Coriander pweder) - one spoon

Garam Masala - just a small amount

Besan (chickpea) flour - about 2 tall glasses full

Cooking oil

Mustard seeds (rai) - small spoonful

Curry Leaves - 3 to 4

Salt - to taste

METHOD:

First take a vessel and mix besan (chickpea) flour with small pinches of Dhaniya jeera powder, very small amount of salt and small amounts of Red chilli powder and Garam Masala.

Add some water to this mix and mix well till you get a thick paste. Keep aside.

In another cooking vessel add some oil and heat. Add the curry leaves and mustard seeds when oil is sufficiently hot

Add chopped onions and stir. Add some turmeric. After 2 minutes add chopped bell peppers and stir.

Cover with lid and let it cook for about 10 minutes on high flame with ocassional stirring to prevent overheating and burning. When the volume of the onions and bell peppers has become less sprinkle very little salt and cover lid and reduce flame.

Next add some red chilli powder, dhaniya jeera powder and garam masala. Remember that you have added these spice powders in the chickpea paste so dont put excess of these.

Now add the chickpea flour paste into the vessel while stirring constantly to ensure proper distribution.  Add some extra water if necessary.

It is important to keep the flame low and stir for some time till the paste and bell peppers are properly mixed up.

Now cover the utensil with a stainless steel dinner plate and put some water on the plate. This allows for steam cooking the vegetable and not cause it to stick to the vessel or burn

Keep a watch every 2-3 minutes and stir so that all parts of the mixture can get proper heat.

The chickpea flour takes some time to cook but you cannot hasten cooking by increasing the gas flame. Within the next 10 minutes your dish is ready!

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CAPSICUM CURRY

http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archiv...

KAIRAS

http://food-forthought.blogspot.com/2006...

Of course, you can always make pakoras also :)

Answer 2

You are rght, a fashionable version is stuffed peppers. However, at homes in North India, the peppers are just made in to a damp curry with potatoes. You can also add pieces of fried Paneer. The only thing you have to worry about is the timing of cooking Bell peppers. You dont want them to be mushy.

http://www.indiacurry.com/vegcurry/v003a...

The cooking time for the potatoes are different than for the sweet bell peppers. Therefore, the potatoes are cooked before bell peppers peppers are added. The heat in the recipe comes from Serrano (Hari Mirch), cayenne is for color.

Ingredients

Prep Vegetables

1. Potatoes: 2 Pounds

2. Simla Mirch (Bell Pepper): 1 Pound

3. Onions: 2 Medium

4. Fresh Serrano: 6

Split in half vertically. Remove seeds and white membrane to reduce heat.

5. Fresh Ginger: 1½ Inch

6. Fresh Garlic: 6 Cloves

Sauté /Cook

7. Ghee: ½ Cup

8. Curry Powder Standard Onset Punjabi: 2 Tablespoon

9. Salt: 1 teaspoon

10. Cayenne Pepper Powder: ¼ teaspoon

11. Water: ¾ Cup

Simmer / Rest

1. Amchoor (Mango Powder): ¼ teaspoon

2. Garam Masala Standard Frying Punjabi: ½ Tablespoon

Method

Step 1: Prepare vegetables

Potatoes: Peel, Cut length-wise ½" wedges. Wash.

Bell Pepper: Cut length-wise about ½" wide strips, White portion is discarded

Onions: Peel, Cut length-wise ½" wedges.

Green Chili Pepper: Wash. Cut length-wise in half. Scoop out seeds with spoon. Discard seeds.

Ginger: Peel, chop about 1/16" thick

Garlic: Remove skin and mince

Step 2: Sauté / Cook

1. In a heavy pan heat Ghee. Add Bell Pepper, Fry it they start to turn brown. Remove Bell Pepper and set aside. You will need them in step 3.

2. Add Potatoes, sauté till potatoes start to sweat and turn brown. Remove potatoes and set aside.

3. Add onions, salt and Cayenne powder. Sauté till onions are clear, the edges start to turn brown

4.  Add Ginger, garlic, Serrano. Stir well, sauté about one minute.

5. Add Curry powder and potatoes. Stir and sauté. Don't let it burn. Add little water, if it starts to burn. Every thing should be nicely coated. Add remaining water. Cover. Cook on low heat till potatoes are done, stirring occasionally. Add more water if needed; you want dish to be damp wet but not runny.

Step 3: Simmer / Rest

Add, fried Bell Pepper, Garam Masala and Amchoor. Stir. Simmer cook un-covered about 3 minutes and turn the heat off. If you cook covered, the bell pepper may get over-cooked and soggy. The heat will release the flavors from the Garam Masala. Let it rest ten minutes. Its ready to serve.