Capsicum Masala rice / Bellpepper rice

Ingredients
Colored Capsicum chopped- 1 cup
Cabbage chopped- 1/2 cup
Basmati rice - 1 cup, uncooked
Ghee-5 tbsp
mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 string
ginger- 1 inch
turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
hing- 1/4 tsp
coriander leaves to garnish
salt to taste

To roast and grind
coriander seeds- 1 tsp
cumin seeds- 1 tsp
urad dal- 1 tsp
chana dal 1 tsp
red chilies-
black pepper- 1/2 tsp
clove- 2
cinnamon- 1 stick, an inch
peanuts- 2 tbsp
Marathi moggu- 1
hing- 1 pinch
ghee- 1 tsp

Method

• Cook basmati rice separately with 2 tbsp of ghee and salt
• Heat 1 tsp of ghee and roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, chana dal, red chilies, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, peanuts, marathi moggu and hing. Cool and grind the spices and set it aside.
• Heat 3 tbsp of ghee in a pan.
• Add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add hing, curry leaves, and ginger, and saute is a little bit and then add chopped cabbage.
• Saute the cabbage until it becomes translucent. Now add the chopped capsicum(bell peppers). Add salt and saute it until it becomes soft. Make sure not to overcook the capsicum. 
• Now add the ground spice mixture and garam masala and the cooked rice.
• Turn the gas to low flame and mix the rice, capsicum and the spice mixture. Handle with care not to break the rice.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it with raita of your choice!

Paneer Wrap

Ingredients

Tomato - 2
Capsicum - 1
Cabbage - 6 leaves
Paneer - 1 pack
Jeera - a little
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Chaat masala - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
Corriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Gram masala - 1/2 tsp
Kasuri methi - a little
Corriander leaves - a little
Mayonnaise - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Chapathis - 6
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method

Cut the cabbage, capsicum and paneer into juliennes.
Deseed the tomatoes and as cut them into juliennes.
Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot add the jeera.
Next add the cabbage and suate for a while.
Then add the capsicum and saute.
Add all the powders, Chat masala and kasuri methi.
Mix well. Add salt to taste.
Saute well little the raw smell of the powders are gone.
Next add the paneer and tomato.
Mix well.
Turn of the heat and add corriander leaves.
Then apply mayonnaise on one side of the cooked chapati.
Next add the paneer filling.
Roll it tight in butter paper or aluminum foil and serve hot.

Penne Pasta in Pumpkin Sauce

Ingredients:

Olive Oil - 4 tbsp
Red Capsicum - 1 roughly chopped
Pumpkin - 1 big piece
Penne Pasta - 250 gm
Milk - 200 ml
Black salt - 1 tsp
Whole pepper - 12 nos
Broccoli - 1 floret cut and blanched
Pepper powder - according to taste
Salt - according to taste
Mixed herbs - 1 1/2 tsp
Basil leaves - a few
Olives - a few
Cream/Cream Cheese - 2 tbsp
Grated Cheese - a little for garnish

Method :

Boil the pasta and give it a cold water wash. Keep it aside.
Next add 2 tbsp olive oil in a wok and add the pumpkin and saute for 7 mins.
Next add the red capsicum, 1 tsp black salt  and the whole pepper.
Saute till the veggies become soft and tender. Turn off the gas. Allow it to cool.
Add the milk to the pumpkin mixture and blend it to smooth paste,
Next heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil and add the cooked pasta. Saute for a few minutes.
Then add the broccoli and black salt. Saute for a few more minutes.
Pour the pumpkin sauce into the pasta. Add the herbs and  basil leaves also.
Saute for 2 mins. Add the cream next and mix well.
Turn off the heat and garnish with olives and cheese.

P.S - Cream is optional. You can avoid it if you a calorie conscious. This will turn intro an ekadesi recipe if you minus the pasta and add veggies only.

Quick Tomato Briyani

As the name goes, you can get this done real quick. On the days when you have not been home for a few days and you don’t have any specific vegetable available you can opt for this. The Baby Corn Potato Fry that I had posted earlier along with this Tomato Briyani is an awesome combination. Please try it and you’ll like it too. I was in a hurry so once again please excuse me for the picture.

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Capsicum - 1 (sliced into small pieces)
Ginger – 1 inch
Green Chillies - 2
Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
Gram Masala powder – ½ tsp
Carom seeds - 1/4 tsp
Tomato – 5
Coconut Milk – 1 cup
Salt according to taste
Bay leaf - 1
Mint leaves – a small handful
Cliantro – for garnishing
Oil/Ghee – 2 tbsps

Method:

Cut the tomato into small cubes. Slice the capsicum into half finger length pieces. Silt the green chillies vertically into two. Peel the skin and grind the ginger to a fine paste. In a pan, add the oil/ghee. When the ghee is hot add the carom seeds and bay leaf. Next add the ginger paste, green chillies, capsicum and fry well. After a few minutes add the tomatoes and allow it to cook well for a few minutes. Next add the red chilli powder, gram masala powder, mint leaves and salt. Cook until the tomato becomes soft. Transfer the contents to a rice cooker. Wash the basmathi rice and add it. Next add the coconut milk. Mix salt as per taste. Then add required amount of water. The tomatoes will already have some water so add based on that. For one cup basmathi rice I add two cups water, here we have added one cup coconut milk, the tomatoes will have a little more than quarter cup water, so I generally add another ¾th cup water. Mix well and allow it to cook. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with raita.

Corn Capsicum Tava Masala (Corn Bell Pepper Stir Fry)

Corn Capsicum Tava masala is dish from the North Indian cusine. You could find a restaurant style Corn capsicum masala in the recipe index posted by Gokulanandhini which is more of a gravy type.  Tawa masala usually refers to veggies sauted on a tava(skillet) and flavoured with different spices. I found this intersting dish on Sanjeev Kapoor's "Khana Khazana", an Indian cookery show and tried to experiment it with my ideas. The outcome was pretty good.

Ingredients
Green capsicum (green bell pepper)- 3
Corn kernnel- 1 cup
corriander powder- 1 tsp
cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
garam masala- 1 tsp
Tava fry masala (MDH brand)- 1/2 tsp
yogurt- 2 tbsp
red chilli powder- 1 tsp
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch
cilantro (corriander leaves)- to Garnish
sugar- 1tp (optional)
oil 3 tbsp
salt to taste

To grind
tomatoes- 3 medium sized
cashews- 10 (soaked in warm water for 15 mins)
green chillies- 2

Grind the above ingredients into smooth paste.

Method:
Chop the capsicum into big pieces. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and add capsicum and corn kernnels and fry them until golden brown but the capsicum should be slightly crisp and set aside. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard, jeera. When the mustard cracks add a pinch of asafoetida and the ground paste. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, corriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala and saute them for 10 mins. Add the fried capsicum and corn and stir them well. Add salt and cook for 5-1o mins. Finally add the yogurt, sugar(optional) and tawa fry masala and cook for 2 mins. Turn down the heat and garnish with cilantro leaves(corriander leaves).

Suggestions: This makes an awesome side dish for rotis, nan, parathas and vegetable pulav.

Corn Capsicum Masala

This goes well with chapati and even plain basmati rice. I actually tasted this dish at our favourite restaurant in Chennai “ Copper Chimney”. Then after getting back home I googled to find a lot of corn and capsicum masala recipes but, with onion and garlic :-(.I,then did my own additions and deletions and landed up on an awesome corn capsicum masala. And these days we don’t have corn capsicum masala at Copper Chimney, because we make it at home. Jai


Ingredients
Capsicum - 2 large ones
Corn – 2 cups
Oil – 1 tbs
Ghee – I tbs
Tomatoes - 6 large ones
Green chilies – 2
Ginger – 1 finger length
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Red chili powder – ½ tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 2 tsp
Garam masala – ½ tsp
Bay Leaf – 1
Fresh Cream – 3 tbs
Coconut milk – 2 tbs
Salt as per taste
Sugar – 1/2 teaspoon(Optional)
Coriander leaves – a small bunch

Method
First wash the tomatoes and boil them with water till their skin starts coming out.After that drain the water and cool it. Next peel the skin and add them to a mixer.Add the green chilies,ginger and grind them to a fine paste. In a pan add the ghee and heat. Add the Bay leaf. Next add the ground paste, turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, and coriander powder and mix well.After cooking for a 5 minutes. Next add the coconut milk and also water based on your need. I usually add 1 to 1 1/2 cup. Stir at regular intervals and make sure the gravy doesn’t stick to the bottom. This will take 10 to 12 minutes. In the meantime heat oil in pan and add the chopped capsicum and corn. Roast the vegetables till they become crisp and slightly brown here and there. Now, to the gravy add the garam masala, salt and sugar(optional). Mix well. Allow it to cook for 2 minutes.Now add the vegetables and then after another two minutes reduce the flame and add the cream. Mix well again and allow to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and yummy Corn Capsicum masala is ready to serve.

Paneer Capsicum Masala

This Paneer Capsicum masala was my experimaental dish for last ekadhasi. On  every ekadhasi I fast from grains. Hence I dont use any powder or masala that I get from the grocery stores for ekadhasi because it would be mixed with wheat flour. I made this dish for buckwheat dosa and it came out really well.

Ingredients:
Paneer- 200 grams
Capsicum(bell pepper)- 2, big, (green/ red/ yellow/ purple)
Tomatoes- 2, medium size
Green chillies- 2
corriander seeds- 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds/ jeera- 1 tsp
black jeera/ kaali jeera- 1/2 tsp
fennel seeds/ saunf- 1/4 tsp
cinamon stick- 2 (1 inch)
cloves- 2
cardamom powder- a pinch
bay leaf- 1
ginger- 1 inch
Kasuri methi/ dry fenugreek leaves- 1 tbsp
oil- 1 tbsp
salt to taste
cilantro/ corriander leaves for garnishing

Preparation:

Grate the paneer and chop the capsicum and tomatoes finely. Make a paste of the green chillies and ginger. In a pan dry roast the cumin and corriander seeds and grind it to powder. Heat oil in a pan and add the black jeera and fenel seeds, when it cracks add cinamon sticks, bay leaf, cloves, cardamom powder and ginger chilli paste and fry them and then add the chopped tomatoes and fry them until they become tender and becomes a thick paste. Add the capsicum and fry until they become tender an then finally add paneer and salt and fry them until the paneer is cooked. Finally add kasuri methi and saute it. Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro leaves.

Sending this recipe to SUBMIT YOUR RECIPES hosted by Srilekha from Me and My Kitchen.