Stuffed Pepper/Capsicum

This is a dish which is known worldwide. It can be used as a starter or as a midday snack. Its a delicious dish which I prefer to eat hot but can be eaten hot or cold.

stuffed pepper one with rice and other without

Ingredients :

• Bell Pepper/Capsicum  4
• minced meat - 250 gms
• Garlic paste - 2 tbsps
• Ginger paste - 2 tbsps
• Green chilies - 3
• Garam masala (see here for spice mixture)
• Red chilli powder- 2 tbsps
• Onion medium size - 1
• Oil - 5 tbsps
• Salt - according to taste
• Rice preferably basmati - 100 gms(optional)

Method

• Dice the onions.
• Slit the chillies length wise and deseed them. The best way to i find to deseed the chilli is by using a spoon with a thin edge. Just scrap them along chillies. Then cut them into small pieces.
• Take a shallow bottom pan add the oil and then add the ginger garlic paste with the diced onion and chillies. saute them for a minute or so.
• Add the minced meat along and fry well until the meat turns brown. Add the salt, garam masala and keep frying. Add a bit of water (say half a cup) if necessary. As the final consistency of the meat should be dry and not gravy like.
• Set the cooker on slow, cover the pan and cook till the meat is done. If the meat is not dry just fry on high till it becomes so.
• When the meat is cooking you can prepare the peppers but cutting around the stalk and removing the top of the peppers and removing the seeds and insides of  pepper. You can cut the pepper into half or leave it as whole for stuffing
• Cook the basmati rice and fluff it with a fork. mix the meat mixture with the rice and keep the mixture aside. (This step is optional as just the cooked meat alone could also be used as the filling). I mix just a part of the meat with rice so that i can have two fillings one with rice and the other without.
• Now stuff the pepper with the prepared stuffing taking care not to over stuff, replace the tops, set in a baking dish on the middle of a conventional oven and bake for 30 min at 150deg cel.
• Another method is to steam by placing the capsicum in a pressure cooker with water at the bottom. Do not place the weight of pressure cooker, cook for about 15 min till the skin of the pepper is chaffed and done.

Serve with tomato sauce and sprinkle with cheese if desired and serve hot.