masaledar Bharwan shimla Mirch/Stuffed Capsicum

Everyday cooking   used to be restricted to ," regular dishes" in Indian households, when the exposure to fancy dishes was limited to eating out in restaurants or watching some celebrity demonstrate recipes on a T.V show. Thanks to the amazing wonders of INTERNET,everything is virtually possible in  almost real time. I love the fact that I am able to share the recipes of my everyday meals with the rest of the world . This is the magic of Internet which we now have started to take for granted :) BTW I brought up the topic of fancy dishes because, stuffed capsicum in  the 80's was quite a," novelty" in  normal Indian households due to the absence of  ovens in regular homes. So any dish that required baking or grilling meant finding alternate ways to cook it.  It makes me happy that these gadgets are becoming a house hold thing  now , at least in Urban India. At the same time I envy the simple & primitive means of  cooking which are practiced by people living in rural India. They eat natural , and cook naturally. Kudos to them all ,they are not slaves to the  modern & quick means of cooking.

I dedicate this recipe to all those who made this dish possible even in the absence of OTG's :) Cheers !!!

Ingredients:
Green Capsicum: 4
Potato: 2 large
Ginger: 1tbsp
garlic: 1 tbsp
Tomato: 1 medium sized
salt: 1 tsp
turmeric: 1/4 tsp
coriander powder: 1/4 tsp
garam masala: 1/4 tsp
paprika Powder: 1/4 tsp
Carom seeds: 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek seeds: 15-20
Fennel seeds: 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/4 tsp
Nigella : 1/4 tsp
asfoetida: A pinch
Oil: 2 tbsp
curry Leaves: 10-12
mint leaves: 10-12
cilantro for garnishing


Note: Asfoetida, carom ,ginger & fenugreek aid in digestion.

 Method:
Boil potato's,peel them and mash them.
Take a frying pan and heat oil. When hot add all the seeds( carom,nigella,mustard,fennel,fenugreek) to this add curry leaves ,asfoetida and ginger& garlic and fry for a couple minutes. Chop tomato and add to this along with all the dry powders( turmeric,paprika,coriander,garam masala,salt) saute for some time till the tomato is completely mashed. Now add the mashed potato's and mix it well.

Raw capsicum stuffed with the potato mix

take the washed and dried capsicum and cut it into two halves,remove the tough part in the centre and also the seeds. Now stuff the capsicum with the potato mix. Brush the capsicum with oil and pre-heat the oven to 400 d Fahrenheit . Then broil the capsicum till the edges and the skin gets a nice cooked brown color. Roughly 15-20 minutes. Capsicum should be ready.I served it for lunch today with beaten yogurt and roti along with some salad and home made green chutney :)