Masala Stuffed Orange Baby Bell Peppers (Bharela Marcha)

We have a new green grocers in my village......yes, it's really nice having a green grocers to buy your vegetables from rather than from the supermarket. Last week I bought a huge bag of  one of the the tastiest  baby bell peppers I have ever had .I used in salads, pizza toppings and also made some stuffed pepper.    These peppers can be stuffed with rice and cheese like in my recipe for stuffed peppers.  I made these peppers a little bit similar to my recipe for stuffed bullet chillies.  Baby bell peppers are sweeter and milder so the spices used to stuff these peppers are slightly different. 

Ingredients for 1-2 servings

5 Baby bell peppers
2 tablespoons cumin powder
2 tablespoons coriander powder
2 tablespoons chickpea flour (also called gram flour)
1 dessert spoon of roasted peanuts (for those who are allergic-leave out the nuts)
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
half a teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
2-3 cloves of fresh garlic
2 tablespoons cooking oil to add to the spices
2 tablespoons cooking oil for the curry
1 teaspoon dry mustard seeds
1/2 cup of  crushed tinned tomato or passata

Method:

1.  Grind the roasted peanuts in a coffee grinder.

2.  Prepare the stuffing by adding the chick pea flour, cumin powder, coriander, ground peanuts,salt, chile powder and sesame seeds into a small non stick frying fan.

3.  Add the two tablespoons of oil to the mixture and lightly toast the mixture so that all the flavours blend together.

4.  Allow the mixture to cool.

5.  Slice the peppers lengthwise and soak them in cold water so that all the peppers seeds get washed away.

6.   Stuff the peppers with the spices and arrange them in a small saucepan.

7.  In a second saucepan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds to it.  Once the mustard seeds start popping, spread the oil on top of the stuffed peppers.

8. Allow the peppers to cook in the oil, turning the occassionally using some metal tongs.

9.  Using a garlic press, blend the garlic and add to the chilies

10. Once the peppers feel soft, add the blended tomatoes/pasata to the chillies and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes.

11.   Mix slowly and if you have any of the stuffing mixture left, add it to the curry and allow it to cook until most of the moisture has been absorbed.

12.  Serve the peppers as a main dish or a side dish with hot chappatis and rice.

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