While there are many ways of cooking capsicum, this way of cooking capsicum/bell pepper is my all time favorite. For starters the pungent capsicum is cooked in a coconut masala which has a balanced combination of the essential 4 S. The four S’s being sweet, spicy, salty and sour. So when the bell pepper gets cooked in this masala it forms an enticing combination.
I may be a little biased here, because I enjoy vegetables cooked in a spicy coconut masala/sauce. That is how I grew up eating and this dish transports me back home giving me that warm, comfortable feeling.
Apart from its taste, the other aspect I like about this Capsicum Masala is that it is easy to cook. After coming back from work, all I long for is to make something easy, healthy yet delicious and this one fits the bill. While the onion, capsicums are cooking in the pan, I grind the masala and add it to the pan. Since everything cooks fast, this dish gets done in a jiffy. Make some daal like “Daali thoy” and you have a wonderful lunch/dinner. Life could not get any better than that!
The coconut masala is very versatile and you can customize based on your own taste. Also you can substitute bell pepper (referred to as capsicum in India) with okra (lady’s finger), brinjal (eggplant) or even potatoes.
Ingredients
- 2 big capsicum/ bell peppers [substitute with okra, brinjal, Tindora, potato]
- 1 medium onion
- ¾ cup shredded coconut
- 1 Tbsp tamarind paste
- Little jaggery (for taste)
- Coriander leaves (garnish)
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- Asafetida (a pinch)
- Salt
- oil
Ingredients to roast
- 1 tsp urad daal
- ½ tsp coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp methi seeds
- ½ tsp sesame seeds
- ¼ cup peanuts/ground nuts
- 3-4 red chillies
Preparation:
- Wash all the capsicum/bell pepper thoroughly, chop into bite size pieces and keep aside. (not too small)
- Peel the onion and chop it into small pieces. Chop the coriander leaves and keep aside.
- Roast all the ingredients in little oil on low flame one by one and keep them aside to cool.
- Grind the coconut along with red chillies, salt, tamarind paste and water.
- Half way through add the roasted ingredients and grind it to a smooth paste. Add water as required. The paste should be a little thick and not too watery.
Method:
- Heat oil in a thick bottom pan, add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Next add the asaferida and mix.
- Add the diced onions and sauté until it is semi cooked.
- Increase the heat and at this point add the chopped capsicum. Stir well.
- After the capsicum is cooked, add the ground masala, salt, jiggery and mix well. Sprinkle water in between and keep mixing as required.
- Cover with a lid, stirring in between. Once the masala is cooked, stream in little bit oil. Mix and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
This can be served as a wonderful accompaniment with rice or rotis.
Will happily have this flavourful masala with rotis..yumm!
Thanks for the quick response Priya.
I love bell pepper in all its variations. Bookmarked!
Wow new recipe to me .. Will try this recipe .. By the way lovely pictures …
Lovely recipe…nice combo wid rotis
Thats a lovely capsicum masala and all those other veggies mentioned above will tatse yummy also 🙂
I had eaten this made by a Gujarathi lady sometime back. She didn’t have coconut in it and more sesame seeds. I can imagine how nice addition of coconut could be here.
That looks so good Supriya. And I am loving the pics.
I usually cook the capsicum with besan but I am tempted to grind some coconut and try this.
such a beautiful recipe, the gravy looks delicious Supriya!
Delicious curry…. the presentation is lovely..:)
Reva
Yum, love it and love the idea of this gravy 🙂
lovely curry!!> superb shots!
Capsicum is my favorite. Curry looks good.
Vardhini
VardhinisKitchen
Delicious way to cook capsicum and lovely pics.
This will go well with chappatis!!
Thank you all so much for the warm comments.
I tried this recipe and came out great, the only difference is the vegetable.I tried with beans.Absolutely loved it. Gonna try with capsicum tomorrow for lunch with friends.
Thanks so much Sumi, glad you liked it. Love the idea of using beans 🙂
Hi,I tried this recipe! It was a perfect accomplishment for roti’s! Thanks!
So glad you liked it, Mahi!
I always like to try new recipes and this one came out very gud. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Thanks, so glad you liked it!
Good recipe. Made it a little spicier by adding 4 small green chillies and a little turmeric to the coconut masala. Thanks.
Thanks, glad you liked it.
Hi.. i tried out this recipe… it tasted really good.. with roti… Thanx
Great Article ! Thanks