Capsicum Curry (in Coconut-Peanut gravy)

I personally love bell peppers and use it in many dishes. But when i came across this fantastic recipe using bell peppers in coconut-peanut gravy I decided to try it. To my surprise, hubby liked it a lot, who is for sure, not at all a capsicum lover. This is a very rich dish as it uses coconut and peanut for the gravy and tastes delicious.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 mins.

Cooking time: 20 mins.

Ingredients:

2 cups capsicum cubed

1 medium sized onion (finely chopped)

½ cup onion cubed

1 ½ cups tomato (finely chopped)

1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste

½ tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp cumin

1 green chili (optional)

1.5 to 2 tablespoon peanuts

2 tablespoons dry coconut

1 tablespoon poppy seeds (you can also use sesame seeds)

salt as required

2 tbsp oil

½ tsp garam masala

1 bay leaf (optional)

  

Directions:

1. Chop the capsicum in cubes and also the onions in cube form by separating the layers.
2. Also, finely chop onions and tomatoes.
3. In a pan which is medium hot, dry roast the peanut ,coconut and sesame seeds. Keep aside to cool.
4. Reheat the same pan and put in the oil, put in onions (finely chopped) and saute till browned.
5. Now, add in ginger garlic paste and saute until raw smell goes off.
6. Fry for few seconds, and add in tomatoes. Keep the flame medium and stir occasionally until the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
7. In a blender, grind the roasted peanut-coconut mixture. Add in little water to get a smooth paste.
8. In the same blender, add in the onion tomato paste which you just cooked and grind everything together to get a smooth paste.
9. Heat oil in a pan and once hot, add in cumin seeds and bay leaf.
10. Once they splutter, add in cubed onions and capsicum. Fry them until they are little browned but retain the texture of bell peppers.
11. Pour in the mixture prepared in step 8 into the pan.
12. Add in salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala. Stir and cook for 3-4 mins.
13. You can add in water if the gravy is too thick and adjust the consistency as per your needs. Cook until the curry boils up and keep on low flame for another 2-3 mins.
14. Turn off the heat and serve hot with parathas, rotis or rice.

Tips:

• Add different colored bell peppers to get nice colorful dish.
• You can add milk instead of water for more creamy and rich gravy.