Capsicum Massala/Indian Capsicum Stir Fry. 1 Teaspoon Oil Side Dish.

You know blue is for water, white is for peace, red is for romance, black is for darkness, green is for prosperity, yellow is for sunshine etc etc. Don’t you think colours are the best feature of the world? Colours are everywhere-in maps, flags, uniforms, monuments-everywhere! There is something about every colour-it might bring smile to your face, or might change your mood completely. But when many colours come together as one, it is magical. Like rainbow, you love it because it has many colours, a plain blue colour rainbow would be no fun-right? Or a game of football, where you get to see many colours, imagine all players, referee and the goal keepers in one colour-how boring-isn’t it? Well now you get my point.

Colours in the same way play an important role in our food too. You see with your eyes first and then eat your mouth. Everything green on a plate is so dull, until you throw in some yellow or red. Or imagine some red dish served in the red plates or bowls- no fun either-right? So your food becomes your colours and your serving wear becomes your canvas. Use the colours and paint the canvas the way you like. Ha ha ha, am I talking like a painter? May be yes, I will tell you why.

A year back I prepared capsicum dry curry using green capsicums, and it was not liked or appreciated at all. After that I used Capsicums or bell peppers only in some of the Chinese dishes- be it in Schezwan Noodles, Desi Bell Peppers Noodles or in Indo-Chinese rice. However, the fact is bell peppers play a very important role if you are on weight loss regime (which is my case), it is full of fiber and the pepper tinch helps to lose weight. After knowing this I wanted to include it more in the diet and not just some tiny bits used in rice or pasta.

After thinking a lot, I decided to play with the colors. I used yellow, green and red bell peppers with some Indian spices to make a dry curry-more like a stir fry. The plan was not to overcook the capsicum and use very little oil. So the dish that was once hated and disliked is now a huge hit at our place-reason?? COLOURS. Yes for Massala Shimla Mirch Subji/ Capsicum Stir Fry you need just 1 teaspoon of oil, play of colours and some patience-Period!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup each of coloured capsicums/shimla mirch Chopped

1 medium size chopped onion/pyaz

1 tablespoon grated ginger/adrak

5-6 curry leaves

1 green chilli chopped

1 teaspoon oil

1/4 teaspoon cumin/jeera

1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds/rai

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder/haldi

1/2 teaspoon coriander powder/dhaniya

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder/lal mirch

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice/nimbu ka ras

1/4 teaspoon Pav bhaji massala (optimal)

Salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add in curry leaves, mustard seeds and cumin. Let it splutter.

Add in chopped onions, grated ginger and chopped green chilli. Add in 1/4 cup of water, cover and cook till onions turn soft.

Mix all the remaining spices with 4 tablespoons of water and make a paste.

Throw in chopped capsicums and mix. Also add in spices paste and stir well.

Cover and cook on a medium heat till capsicums turn soft. Mix in lemon juice and serve.

Notes:

Remember the recipe uses only 1 teaspoon of oil so use a non stick utensil to cook.

Make sure that capsicums do not overcook; else you will end up with mushy curry.

Pav bhaji massala is easily available in Indian grocery stores. If you want you can omit it.

If you can’t find coloured capsicums, its okay, no change will occur it taste. Just that coloured ones look more appealing.

This recipe is for 2 people.

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot with any Indian bread- parathas, roti, kulchas or puri.

Serve as a side with rice and daal.

Just roll up in the parathas, or rotis. Great for tiffins and luch boxes.

This will make a great stuffing for sandwiches too.