Bell peppers in Cashew peanut gravy

I have never favored curries or dishes with bell peppers as main ingredient. I just love to include bell peppers along with other vegetables. They provide a juicy and crisp texture to the dish. But my notion about bell peppers as the main ingredient changed completely with this curry.

A few days ago, I found one each of red, yellow, green, bell peppers waiting to be used up in the refrigerator. I had to use them up as soon as possible, as they would have gone bad by the next day. I was wondering what to make out of it, when I remembered this Kurma that I had tasted in a restaurant a long time ago. This Kurma was actually served as a side dish for Pulao and Biryani. The moment the memory hit me, I knew I would be making the Kurma. 

Since I did not have the recipe, I had to follow my gut feeling so that the gravy would taste similar to that of the restaurant's. But then, the gravy did not taste anything like the one I had in the restaurant. It tasted way better. I served this Kurma with coconut rice and piping hot chapatis. The combo somehow took the flavor quotient to another level.

Bell peppers in Cashew peanut gravy

Preparation time: 20min

Cooking time: 15min

Serves- 4

Ingredients:

Bell peppers- 3 med, deseeded and chopped into large chunks

Ghee-1tspn

Oil- 2tbsp

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tspn

Onion- 1med, finely chopped

Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tspn

Tomatoes- 2 med, finely chopped or pureed

turmeric or haldi- 1/4tsp

Salt to taste

Sugar- 1tsp

Thick yogurt- 3tbsp

Garam masala- 1/2tsp

For the ground paste:

Dry coconut or Copra- 3tbsp

Oil- 1/2tsp

Shah jeera or caraway seeds- 1/2 tsp

Peanuts- 2-1/2 tsp

Cashew nuts- 8-10, broken into pieces

Coriander seeds- 1tspn

Kashmiri red chilies- 4

Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

For the ground paste:

• In a pan, dry roast the copra till fragrant and lightly browned and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan and add the caraway seeds and fry till it turns brown.
• Add the peanuts and cashew  nuts and fry for a min. Stir in the coriander seeds and red chilies and fry till the coriander seeds crackle and the red chilies are crisp.
• Take off the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely. Grind the fried ingredients along with the toasted coconut to a fine paste by adding quarter cup of water.

For the curry:

• Heat a tsp of oil or ghee in a  pan and fry the bell pepper pieces for 2minutes. Take off the heat and keep aside.
• Add two table spoons of oil in the same pan and add the cumin seeds once they turn brown, add the chopped onions and fry till it turns pink.
• Add the ginger- garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
• Add the chopped or pureed tomato and fry for a minute. Stir in the turmeric, salt, and sugar and fry for 3-4min or till the mixture thickens.
• Add the ground paste and fry for another two minutes. Switch off the flame and stir in the yogurt and mix well. 
• Switch on the flame again and add the fried bell peppers and garam masala. Allow the bell peppers to cook on a low flame for 5-7mins before taking off the heat.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or rotis.

Notes:

• This curry can be made with bell peppers of any color. 
• The caraway seeds can be replaced with cumin seeds.
• The ghee can be substituted with oil