Mahanandi

Living in Consciousness ~ Indi(r)a’s Food and Garden Weblog

Stuffed Bell Peppers (Capsicums)

Capsicum (Bell Pepper)

Hollywood often portrays the pretty blonds as cute and dumb. The same role in vegetable world is filled by bell peppers or capsicums. I think.

Bell peppers are colorful! Look so pretty, cute and also would bring that much needed (in some eyes) color and attraction when added to a dish. They are popular mainly for that reason and they have hollow insides, giving the impression of empty pretty heads just like the blond stereotype. No wonder we are tempted to fill them up. Almost every cuisine has several stuffed recipes for bell peppers. Rice, meat, lentils, nuts and cheese, every other thing in food world is used to stuff the bell peppers. Even other vegetables,… aah, the humiliation. The bell peppers must feel mortified when we fill them up with other veggies. But graceful they are, they won’t show it. They stand our mistreat and still look pretty. Such graciousness always invites strong reaction; people would hate or love them. But few could resist their charms.

One such charming, capsicum recipe is from India. Here the bell peppers are stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes and cooked to brown and then placed in peanut-sesame sauce. Served with rice or chapati, this is a meal fit for a rani (queen). Though the recipe makes us work like kitchen helpers in a rani’s kitchen, once you wipe off the sweat from the brow, once it’s plated, you would feel like a rani. Worth the effort, that’s what I am saying.:)


Capsicums Stuffed With Potato Curry – Ready For Browning

Recipe:

Potato Stuffing:
Good quality potatoes (red or baby alu) – 3 or 6, Pressure-cook or boil them in water, until tender. Remove the skins, mash them to smooth paste.
In a pan, heat a teaspoon of oil, do the tadka (toast ¼ tsp each – mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves). Saute finely chopped pieces of one onion, 4 green chillies and a fistful of fresh peas. Add the mashed potato. Stir in salt, turmeric and one teaspoon of clove-cinnamon-cumin-coriander seed powder (garam masala). Mix them all well. Cook covered on medium-low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes – That’s our potato stuffing for bell peppers.

Bell peppers (Capsicums):
Pick 6 small sized, fresh and firm bell peppers – any color (green, red, yellow or orange) or color combination is fine. This curry is all about appearance and size matters. Small sized capsicums are perfect for this curry. Jumbo regular grocery (US) type are too big and the curry won’t look good when prepared with them. (Local farmers markets here in US, often carry small sized ones during summer time.)

Cut the tops off. Remove the seeds and membranes inside and make a hollow. Fill them up with potato curry to the top.

In a big iron skillet, heat about 1 tablespoon of peanut oil. Place the stuffed bell peppers neatly in a circle and cook them covered on medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes. Turn them to sides in-between so that they could get brown evenly on all sides. (You could also cook these stuffed bell peppers in oven – baking and broiling at 375 F until they are soft and tender to touch.)


Stuffed and Cooked Capsicums in Peanut-Sesame Sauce

Peanut-Sesame Sauce:
Toast quarter cup each – peanuts and sesame seeds to golden color. Take them in a grinder, add 2 cloves and 2 one-inch pieces of cinnamon, half teaspoon each – chilli powder and salt and a tablespoon of tamarind juice and powdered jaggery . Grind them to smooth paste.

Heat a teaspoon of peanut oil in a big pan. Add the peanut-sesame sauce and about a half cup to one cup of water. Mix well. Simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Have a taste and adjust salt, sweet and sour levels to your liking.

Add the stuffed capsicums to the thickened sauce. Cook for another 10 minutes on medium heat, covered. Serve with rice or with chapatis.


Stuffed Capsicum Curry with Rice

Notes:
Traditional North- Indian recipe does not inlclude the gravy, and cooking the stuffed peppers in peanut-sesame sauce is my version. Adding little bit Andhra touch.

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Bell Pepper,Peanuts,Sesame Seeds (Monday July 17, 2006 at 2:04 pm- permalink)
Comments (36)

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36 comments for Stuffed Bell Peppers (Capsicums) »

  1. Heyyy
    I am the first one to comment 🙂 Cheap satisfaction ha.. I really loved the prelude for the dish…. empty headed blonde !!

    Where do u get the patience Indira ??

    Btw monday morning.. i better close the browser … 🙂

    Comment by Revathi — July 17, 2006 @ 2:13 pm

  2. What striking pictures!!!

    Comment by Sumitha — July 17, 2006 @ 2:22 pm

  3. Indira:

    The bellpeppers look sooo good and colorful! Love what you have done with them!

    Comment by Luv2Cook — July 17, 2006 @ 2:23 pm

  4. I need to buy these blondes,cant wait to be the Maharani 🙂
    Btw this weekend I tried popsicles recipe. I didnt have the popscile tray but saw in Food TV how they used normal ice tray for that and then I used toothpick instead of wooden sticks :-), but it worked. Just loved the taste in this summer. Thanks for sharing Indira.My favourite was the mango-strawberry combo 🙂

    Comment by Kerala Girl — July 17, 2006 @ 2:37 pm

  5. Look at the pictures … drool-worthy !

    Comment by Krithika — July 17, 2006 @ 2:37 pm

  6. deadly pictures and curry tempts with those peanut-sesame sauce 🙂

    Comment by Karthi Kannan — July 17, 2006 @ 2:44 pm

  7. Oh my! I feeling like grabbing them just off this screen now! As always, lovely pictures, mouth watering recipe.

    Comment by veda — July 17, 2006 @ 2:45 pm

  8. Hey Indira,
    Those capsicum looks gorgeous. I make capsicum curry using same ingredients as your peanut-sesame paste. Never tried stuffing them, since I wont get cute, blonde ones to stuff. Thanks for the recipe.

    Comment by Madhu — July 17, 2006 @ 2:51 pm

  9. looks beautiful..

    Comment by sumi — July 17, 2006 @ 3:25 pm

  10. Mmmmmmm …. love bell peppers. Stuffed bell peppers is one of my all time comfort dish. I am definitely gonna give this one a try. Thanks Indira – beautiful pic matches the scrumptitious dish

    Comment by Sangeeta — July 17, 2006 @ 4:31 pm

  11. Hi Indira,
    My mom makes similar stuffed peppers without the gravy. I miss those small capsicums that we are used to get in India. I feel that the capsicums in India tasted better than the watery, bland US variety.
    Thanks for the recipe.

    Pavani

    Comment by Pavani — July 17, 2006 @ 5:19 pm

  12. Colorful pictures indira.recipe is mouthwatering!!

    Comment by surya — July 17, 2006 @ 5:28 pm

  13. I first ate this at a Punjabi friend’s house and assumed for some reason that they were made only in North India. The peanut gravy is new to me and I’ll surely give it a try.
    Tried your gongura dal over the weekend and it was fab.
    It never surprises me how much we learn from blogs. I didnt even know what gongura was and now I am cooking and eating it in my kitchen 😀

    Comment by Ashwini — July 17, 2006 @ 6:38 pm

  14. Beautiful pictures….looks yummy…must tryy

    Comment by neelu — July 17, 2006 @ 6:39 pm

  15. Your descriptions and photos of all the fruits and vegetables you present in your blog is so amazing that sometimes I feel you should write a book. I’ll be the first person to buy that. And yes, I’ll buy two copies.

    Comment by Nikul — July 17, 2006 @ 7:46 pm

  16. Hi Indira,

    Aren’t you forgetting something?

    Comment by Nikul — July 17, 2006 @ 7:57 pm

  17. Hi Indira,
    How do you make the background of your pictures, esp the first one blend with the white background here? It looks as if the bell peppers are pasted to this page? Thanks in advance.

    Comment by L.G — July 17, 2006 @ 8:46 pm

  18. Hi Indira, how’re you doing?
    I have tried out your red bell pepper chutney although those red and yellow ones cost sky high here in India. I am glad it turned out absolutely yummy. Just today morning we spread it over a thick slice of ragi bread and enjoyed a tasty breakfast. Thanks 🙂

    Comment by Supriya — July 18, 2006 @ 1:00 am

  19. this looks absolutely fabulous. I love stuffed peppers. And that potato curry sounds delish!

    Comment by jenjen — July 18, 2006 @ 5:20 am

  20. I knew stuffed peppers; have eaten them before. But your peanut-sesame sauce is new to me. I am sure I am gonna love it for the peanuts. 🙂
    Btw, the feminist in me gets tickled to read you writing ‘fit for a queen’ and not a ‘king’! 🙂

    Comment by Vaishali — July 18, 2006 @ 8:43 am

  21. Oh!! it is 9-20 a.m, I am at work and sooo hungry after looking at your website 🙂
    Great recipe and wonderful pics as always!

    Comment by Deepa — July 18, 2006 @ 9:17 am

  22. Thank you all for your nice comments. I appreciate your time. Thanks!

    Revathi: Yay for you.:)
    Food blogging is fun and interesting thing to do for me at this time.:)

    Kerala Girl: I am glad to hear that your tried and liked the M-S popsicle recipe. They are fun to prepare and to have, aren’t they?:)

    Pavani: The sauce is my touch. I thought cooking them in sauce makes it more “maharani” worthy.:)
    I agree, Indian type small bell peppers suit this curry best.

    Ashwini: Yep, this is more of a north-Indian fare, but I have changed the traditional recipe by adding the sauce.
    Gongura tastes great, isn’t it? Thanks for trying out the dal recipe and letting me know.

    Nikul: Thanks!
    What did I miss?

    LG: It’s lighting and lens. Quite easy to do with a good quality lens. I love taking photos like that, because my blog already has dark colors as border, placing photos that would blend into the white background – they look pure, clear and without looking artificial.

    Supriya: Doing good, thanks for asking Supriya. These colored ones are very popular here, after summer they do cost a bit. I usually buy them during this season.
    There is ragi bread? Wow… that must be heavenly (post a picture in flickr group?), particularly with this RBPepper combination. Thanks for trying out the recipe and letting me know.

    Jen Jen: Thanks.

    Vaishali: Peanut sauce is my addition. I like to have sauce with curries, lots of it.:)
    A feminist food blogger? 🙂 That’s always good.

    Deepa: Time for a foodbreak?:) Thanks.

    Comment by Indira — July 18, 2006 @ 7:02 pm

  23. Hey Indira, you forgot to post photos of lovely Kittaya. We miss him so much 🙁

    Comment by Nikul — July 18, 2006 @ 11:02 pm

  24. url indication thank you. Because your sight very was attractive, it is to

    introduce to the Japanese citizen, but very much it is regrettable. It is the

    splendid sight. Please continue to make cooking which is tasty. It is the fan.

    It deletes the photograph. Being born, for the first time it received comment from the foreign country.

    Indira replies:
    No problem Kitei. Thanks for responding and removing photos from your site.
    Also thanks for your nice words about my site. I greatly appreciate it.

    Comment by kitei — July 21, 2006 @ 11:33 am

  25. Tried it now. Verry Nice! Thx!

    Comment by Wolfgang — August 16, 2006 @ 11:14 am

  26. didn’t anyone notice how demeaning this post is to blondes?

    Comment by Anonymous — December 7, 2006 @ 8:17 pm

  27. hi,

    i keep coming to your site for recipes of different vegetables… i have tried many of your vegetable dishes they are really tasty…

    i just wanted to know… if for peanut- sesame sauce… can i just use peanuts..as i donot have sesame seeds and i want to make the recipe today…. so please give me a solution…. i am making it as a surprise for my dearest once birthday… so please
    say me a solution..

    Indira replies:
    Hi Sujana,
    Sometimes I make this curry with peanut gravy without adding sesame seeds. We like that version also. Give it a try.
    Have a great surprise party and happy cooking!
    Do let me know how you like the curry, after the party. Thanks Sujana.

    Comment by sujana — March 28, 2007 @ 8:18 am

  28. hi indira
    I tried out this recipe and it turned out to be good.thanks a lot for the recipe

    Comment by sowmya — July 13, 2007 @ 6:26 pm

  29. I recently found your site on google. Love it – the photos are mouthwatering.

    I tried this recipie and everyone loved it and me too 🙂 Only thing is, I had to cook it for almost 40 mins in the oven and had to crank it up to 400 F to speed up the baking.

    I added “coconut milk” to the peanut/sesame sauce and 2 TBS of “peanut butter” – since the sauce became a little spicy. It reminded me of “thai peanut suace” – so went ahead and altered it a little.

    Next one to try is your roasted r.pepper chutney – can’t wait really.

    I love an Afgani dish called “kaddu” recipie ( i think they use sweet pumpkin/yogurt – it is served as an appetizer ). Would you have a recipie for that ?

    Great site. I am stuck to your site now – an ardent fan !

    Thanks !

    Comment by Tej — December 24, 2007 @ 10:01 am

  30. I so agree with you Indira… I had someone sit at my lunch table with stuffed capsicum… he threw away the capsicum. When I asked why he was throwing away his food, he said, “I ate the sabji… its only the skin I am throwing away!!” I remain flabbergasted!

    Comment by Raaga — February 18, 2008 @ 3:31 am

  31. hey Indira,

    I found ur site thro’ google and just fell in love with it :). The recipes, the photos & the hardwork you put in getting those pics are really commendable.
    I visit this site almost everday… good going keep it up!
    Thanks!

    Comment by Ranjita — April 16, 2008 @ 10:48 pm

  32. Hey indira..ur recepies are awesome..i came to know your website from my friend Ranjitha. she makes awesome idlies and she knows how much i can eat if i am really hungry..[:P]

    Comment by Teja — August 19, 2009 @ 1:25 am

  33. brains are beyond race, caste and creed, gender, colour, skin and type of hair growing out of it … it is a combination of nature and nurture. glory to blondes! nothing personal about the post or you otherwise…

    Comment by Kamali — January 29, 2010 @ 2:45 pm

  34. Oh my god this looks awesome , I am going to try it as soon as I can and will post the feedback later.

    Thank you very much for posting wonderful recipes.

    Comment by chichi — May 6, 2010 @ 6:24 pm

  35. very nice recip

    Comment by Mumtaz Shah — July 15, 2010 @ 1:34 am

  36. I made this curry today. It was so yummy!!!
    Thanks for sharing!!

    Comment by swapna — February 19, 2012 @ 6:01 pm

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