Bharwaan Mirchee – Stuffed Bell Peppers (Indian)

This recipe is from Indian Home Cooking, by Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness.  Some years back I attended a 3 hour hands-on cooking class taught by Suvir Saran and bought this book then.  (He autographed it, too.)  Apparently, it is a recipe from the New Delhi region.  India is a HUGE subcontinent, cooking styles vary vastly across it.

Bharwaan Mirchee cross section.  Seriously, one is enough for a full meal.

Since this recipe uses an egg to hold the stuffing together/in, it’s vegetarian but not vegan.  You could omit the egg and just have a floppier filling, nothing wrong with that.  This recipe is also Paleo.  I halved the amounts.

Regards the hot chili pepper – I used jalapeno, and I will note some jalapenos have no heat, others have a LOT.  Adjust the amount of chili pepper (and any seeds) you use accordingly.  The only recipe changes I made was that I used white boiling potatoes instead of red, and I used the juice of a whole lime instead of a half – the latter a vagary of halving ingredients in my mind while cooking, but forgetting to do so with the lime — but I liked the result!  I also whisked the egg with cumin instead of cayenne since my taste test of the stuffing indicated I already had just enough heat for me — mine turned out to be a HOT jalapeno!

Just pulled from the oven. The orange one tipped over, but no problem. If you do four, aesthetics dictate a pepper of each color!

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Rest Time: No
Serves: 2 (as a main)
Leftovers: Sure.  The pepper may be more soft with re-heating, but still enticing. 
Cuisine:  Indian

Stuffed Bell Peppers – Bharwaan Mirchee

•  0.8 pounds / 400 grams potatoes, white or red.  Slice in half or thirds if you need to make smaller sections for cooking.  
• 2 small bell peppers, cored from the top, and most seeds removed.  Get colorful with your pepper choices.
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds (or about 1/3 teaspoon ground coriander if you lack the whole seeds)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 fresh hot green chili, minced (I used jalapeno, it was what the store had.  Well, they also had Scotch bonnet… no thank you!) De-seed if you prefer.  
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2  tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
• Juice of one lemon or lime (my lemon had gone south, so I used a lime)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1.4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 large egg beaten with a pinch of salt and cayenne (or ground cumin if you already have enough heat)

Bring a pot of water to boil, enough to cover the potatoes.  Add the potatoes, and simmer for about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, prep the bell peppers.  AND preheat the oven to 400 F / 205 C.

In a dry skillet at medium high heat, gently toast the cumin and coriander seeds (if using ground, don’t toast that component).  Watch carefully, they will blacken rapidly.  About a minute.

Remove the potatoes from the water, peel as soon as cool enough, mash (puree or somewhat chunky – I chose the latter – the cookbook didn’t specify), and add everything else except the cooking oil and the egg.  Mix and taste, adjusting accordingly.

Stuff the peppers compactly.   (NOTE:  I actually ended up using all the stuffing except for the teaspoon I tasted.)

Dip the tops of the stuffed peppers into the beaten, seasoned egg, to coat thoroughly.

Heat a skillet (using most of the cooking oil) to medium high, and once hot, upend the stuffed peppers so that the egg will cook.  Keep in place for three minutes max.

Flip them back over so they are stuffed/egg side up, place them in a lightly oiled baking pan, and insert pan and all into the oven.

Cook about 30 minutes, or until the bell peppers are at about the level of done-ness you like.  Serve as a vegetarian main.

ENJOY!  Verdict:  The egg topping is not necessary, but does add a nice element to the dish.  So if you don’t eat eggs, it really won’t matter.

Spicy, awesome, and vegetarian. On my “hit parade”!

PS:  This is a great cookbook, and I’m sorry it has languished in a corner for so long… while poking through it the other day to discover this one, I’ve earmarked a few other recipes I’ll be making shortly from it!

If you are feeling up for it, and can find them, serve a side of  a few fresh, ripe mango slices.  I really, really want two or three slices right now!!!  Otherwise, I’m satiated!  And I have another stuffed pepper for tomorrow!

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This recipe is over having a good time at Fiesta Friday, hosted this week by Julianna @ Foodie on Board and Debanita @ Canvassed Recipes

It’s also hanging around at What’s for Dinner?  Sunday Link Up 162, enjoying being at foodie destinations.