Stuffed Green Peppers (serves 6)

This recipe is a favourite of my Dad’s. He loves to eat these stuffed, slightly spicy green peppers alongside most of his meals, and I think they make a pretty canapé-style starter too - perfect for simply picking up and up and popping in your mouth. They may be small and look unassuming, but these morsels give a burst of flavour to rival the most complex dishes.

Ingredients

150 g green poblano or anaheim peppers

75 ml sunflower oil

50 g gram flour

2 tsp coriander & cumin powder

Salt to taste

½ tsp turmeric

1 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tbsp desiccated coconut

3 tbsp ground peanuts

Juice of half a lemon

1 tbsp jaggery OR sugar

Large pinch of finely chopped fresh coriander

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

Method

·         Wash the peppers thoroughly, drain, and leave aside to dry while you prepare the stuffing.

·         Heat the oil in a frying pan placed over a medium heat. Stir the gram flour into the hot oil.

·         Allow the gram flour to cook for about 2 minutes before stirring in the salt, coriander & cumin powder, and turmeric.

·        Cook for a further 30 seconds before adding the sesame seeds, desiccated coconut, and ground peanuts. Mix well.

·         Stir in the lemon, jaggery, and coriander leaves; turn off the heat, and leave aside to cool.

·         Prepare the peppers for stuffing by making an incision down the length of each one.

·         Use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds of the peppers, without forcing the incision to open too much.

·         When the stuffing has cooled, use your fingers to stuff a small amount into each pepper – do not over-fill or they will burst when they cook. Add just enough to keep the incision open by approximately 3 mm.

·         Heat the oil in a wide frying pan placed over a medium-high temperature.

·         When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and when these begin to sizzle carefully add the peppers. Fry for a few seconds on each side until blistered and charred in places.

·         Serve hot or at room temperature.

This recipe is just one of many found in my book Devnaa's India: Delicious Vegetarian Cooking & Street Food available at devnaa.com and Amazon

Roopa
www.devnaa.com