The last couple of weeks, I tried two recipes and pretty much struck to the instructions for both, which is a bit rare for me, being really lazy to go through multiple steps etc. However these were very simple, so am writing them down before I forget. This one is the first. I followed the recipe from here , pretty much as described, only leaving out the coriander as I didn't have any and the hing (asafoetida) as I turned allergic to it a while back.
The capsicum in this recipe is cut in semi-cube chunks. IE cut the capsicum in 2 halves longitudinally and de-seed. Then cut into long strips and then cut them in a transverse direction.
Otherwise more or less as described, I roasted some besan in a kadai, then emptied it out. Then I heated some oil and allowed some cumin seeds and fennel seeds to crackle (the recipe calls for fennel powder, but not having any I used whole seeds) and added some dried red chillies. Looking back, I think I put in too many fennel seeds - they impart a slightly bitter taste.Once the spices were roasted, I put in ginger paste, turmeric and garam masala, and roasted the whole mixture till the whole spices had a nice dry crumbly coating. Then I put in the capsicum with salt and cumin powder and stirred till it was coated and covered it and let it cook. Once the capsicum was soft and turning from dark to bright and then to a sickly lizardlike green( meaning nearly done) I added the besan and amchur covered it again :). The besan added an extra touch, adding a nice gatthe/vadi like feel to the dish. Works well with chapatis. Capsicum is both easy to cut and cook, so apart from roasting the besan this dish is very easy and hassle free. It had a slightly bitter taste in parts, I am not sure whether this is a property of capsicum or the overdose of fennel seeds. Ms.Nishamdhulika recommends keeping the capsicum chunky but I prefer them soft.
The capsicum in this recipe is cut in semi-cube chunks. IE cut the capsicum in 2 halves longitudinally and de-seed. Then cut into long strips and then cut them in a transverse direction.
Otherwise more or less as described, I roasted some besan in a kadai, then emptied it out. Then I heated some oil and allowed some cumin seeds and fennel seeds to crackle (the recipe calls for fennel powder, but not having any I used whole seeds) and added some dried red chillies. Looking back, I think I put in too many fennel seeds - they impart a slightly bitter taste.Once the spices were roasted, I put in ginger paste, turmeric and garam masala, and roasted the whole mixture till the whole spices had a nice dry crumbly coating. Then I put in the capsicum with salt and cumin powder and stirred till it was coated and covered it and let it cook. Once the capsicum was soft and turning from dark to bright and then to a sickly lizardlike green( meaning nearly done) I added the besan and amchur covered it again :). The besan added an extra touch, adding a nice gatthe/vadi like feel to the dish. Works well with chapatis. Capsicum is both easy to cut and cook, so apart from roasting the besan this dish is very easy and hassle free. It had a slightly bitter taste in parts, I am not sure whether this is a property of capsicum or the overdose of fennel seeds. Ms.Nishamdhulika recommends keeping the capsicum chunky but I prefer them soft.
