Prawn Recheado / Rechard

So what did I do with the rechado paste I posted about earlier? Made some delicious, succulent Prawn Rechado. Very easy to make. First of all make the rechado paste. Marinate the prawns with it and stir fry. See, easy-peasy. I told you.

Ingredients:

23 to 25 large prawns [I kept the tail on of a few of them]

Rechado (rechard) paste

1 to 2 tbsp oil

1 to 2 tbsp water

1 tbsp coriander leaves

Salt

Method:

Marinate prawns in the paste. Refrigerate for a few hours [I kept it overnight .]

In a large pan, heat oil. Add marinated prawns along with all the paste. Sprinkle water. Cook covered till the prawns are completely cooked. Keep stirring to avoid the masala from sticking to the pan. Adjust salt. Garnish with coriander leaves.

 The Goan Rechado masala is a little sweeter, so add extra sugar if needed. I did not want to make it too sweet so I stuck to the 3tsp sugar I added while making the paste. 

Hope you enjoy this Goan delicacy as much as I do :)!

Baby Corn Bajo / Fritters / Pakoda

What's better than sipping hot soup on a cold and rainy evening? Having some hot, crispy pakodas. Dipped in cold tomato sauce laced with chopped garlic. It rained in M'lore a couple of weeks back and boy, what beautiful rains they were! More than welcome in this hot, sultry summer. No signs of rains for a few days now, but that doesn't stop us from having hot bajjis, now does it? 

Ingredients:

10 medium babycorn

½ cup besan (gramflour)

2 tsp rice flour

1 ½ tsp chilli powder

¼ tsp jeera (cumin) or jeera powder

1 ½ tsp ginger garlic paste

2 tsp tomato ketchup

Salt

1 pinch hing powder (optional)

1 pinch ajwain (optional)

Oil for frying

[If you don't like the taste of besan you could replace it with maida+cornflour]

Method:

Chop babycorn into 1 ½" pieces. Cut the thicker pieces vertically.

In a large bowl add the rest of the ingredients. Add enough water to get a thick-lump-free paste. [When you dip a piece of babycorn, it should coat the babycorn well and when you lift it, a couple of drops of the batter should fall back into the bowl. If the paste is too thick add some more water and mix well.] The batter should be spicy and slightly salty. Adjust accordingly.

Dip babycorn pieces, coat well with batter and deep fry in hot oil.

I served it with some tomato ketchup on which I sprinkled finely chopped garlic and a couple of pieces of green chilli. Yummy combo!

Anjal / Seer Fish Masala Fry

Some of my most cherished memories are the ones I spent with my cousins in my Mamama (maternal granny's) place. Long before the age of Nickelodeons and Nintendos, our summer vacations would mainly comprise of playing in the frontyard, amidst the trees, despite the scorching heat. Hide-and-seek used to be one of our favourites where we would hurriedly count upto 20 and rush to find the others crouching under the bed or stooping behind a tree. We would revel playing "family" and being pretend mommies and daddies working hard at the pretend office or sprawling our kitchen-set in the pretend kitchen. During one such evening,  the daddies brought home some pretend fish (leaves of a tree) and we made some yummy pretend fish fry for them. I don't think my cousins would even remember this day - we were like 8 or 9 years old then, but I couldn't help smiling when I was shallow frying this fish, so badly wanting to relive all those pleasant memories.

I followed my mom's recipe for this one, making a couple of minor changes. The chilli powder I used was a local brand which gave a wonderful colour and was less spicy. Adjust the spice according to your taste. If the fish turns out too spicy, drizzle more lemon juice before serving. Also, if vinegar is not available, replace with lemon juice. I used 7 medium pieces of anjal (surmai / seer fish).

Ingredients:

For the marinade

1 tsp chopped ginger

5 to 6 garlic cloves

3 tsp chilli powder 

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

3/4 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vinegar

2 tbsp water

Salt to taste

For shallow frying:

Oil

Curry leaves (about 5 to 6 per piece of fish)

Method:

Grind all the ingredients under "for the marinade" into a smooth paste. [The marinade should be spicy and slightly salty]. Apply it all over the fish and refrigerate for a few hours [I kept it overnight]. 

Heat oil in a pan. Add lots of curry leaves, roughly torn. Place fish pieces and drizzle some more oil on top. Cover and shallow fry for a few minutes on each side, till the fish is completely cooked.

Serve hot with a dash of lemon. 

Chicken Pudina Roast

One thing I've learnt about marinating with curd is that thick curd is different from hung curd and that really makes a difference!! Very often we pull out some curd from a store-bought container without bothering to hang it (come on, it's thick enough) but don't realise that it still has a lot of water content (whey) which can rob some of the marinade from your chicken or paneer. So here's what I do, I dump some "thick" yogurt into a large strainer with really tiny holes, place it on top of a deep bottomed vessel and keep it aside for 20 to 30 minutes. You will be surprised at how much whey actually gets drained from what appears to be thick curds!

If you are using homemade curds, you may have to keep it for a much longer time- probably overnight, so keep the strainer in the fridge to avoid the curd getting sour.

Coming to the recipe, last year I had posted a Paneer Pudina Tikka recipe. This time I tried using pudina with chicken and made several changes, with some inputs from my friend Beena. I have added khus khus (poppy seeds) to this, but if it is not available, just replace with 1 tsp jeera or a couple of cloves. Adjust the chilli powder accordingly.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp khus khus (poppy seeds) or 1 tsp jeera
7 to 8 mild red chilles ( I used byadgi, kumte mirsang)
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 cup pudina leaves
3/4 cup corainder leaves
1/2 tsp haldi powder
1 tsp chilli powder (adjust to taste)
2 tsp garam masala powder
3 tbsp hung curd / very thick curd / greek yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp oil
Salt
1/2 kg chicken pieces, washed and drained completely
1 tsp ghee / butter (optional)


Method:
In a small pan, heat 2 tsp oil and lightly  roast corainder seeds and khus khus on low flame. Add red chilles and roast a bit. Transfer to a blender. Grind with ginger garlic paste, pudina leaves, coriander leaves, haldi powder, chilli powder, garam masala, hung curd, lemon juice, oil and some salt into a smooth paste. [Do not add water]. The paste should be spicy and slightly salty.
Marinate the chicken in it and place covered in the refrigerator for 4 to 14 hours (the more the better).

Transfer to a deep bottomed pan. [No need to put oil]. Cook covered  for 5 minutes on medium low flame. Drizzle 1 or 2 tsp ghee or butter (optional) and mix gently. Cover. Turn the heat to medium. You will see the chicken releasing water. Cook covered for another 15 to 20 minutes till the chicken is completely cooked, the gravy is absorbed and the chicken appears semi-dry. Stir every two minutes to avoid sticking to the pan. Drizzle 1 tsp  lemon juice and mix. If the dish is too spicy, drizzle more lemon juice.

Tastes best with a dash of lemon. A delicious starter no doubt! 

Paneer Capsicum Masala Chilly

It's such a joy to bring together different ingredients without having to follow any rules. I mean, why can Indian spices not join hands with Chinese sauces and give us the best of both worlds? Indo-Chinese cuisine - something I totally relish, has given us an insight into how dishes can be tweaked to suit the palates of the consumers. So when it comes to whipping out dishes in one's own kitchen and bringing together different cultures, the choices are innumerable. 

This recipe is my take on 'Paneer Chilly', a famous Indo-Chinese dish which I have made more 'Indian' by adding Indian spices. I have chosen not to fry the paneer, and to throw in a little more vigour into the dish, have added red bell peppers. I'm so in love with the deep red colour of these peppers, the subtle sweetness they offer and the beautiful contrast they provide with the paneer.

I like this dish to be very spicy so do adjust the spice level according to your taste. If the dish turns out too spicy, add some tomato ketchup or lemon juice.

Ingredients :

2 large onions

2 tsp ginger gralic paste

2 green chillies, finely chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 medium tomato

1 large red capsicum 

1 medium green capsicum

1 tsp soy sauce

1 to 2 tsp red chilli sauce (I used Ching's)

2 tsp vinegar

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tbsp kasuri methi (optional)

400g paneer, chopped into cubes

Salt

Coriander leaves or / and spring onion greens for garnish

Method :

Heat oil. Sauté chopped onions till they turn brownish. Add ginger garlic paste and green chillies and sauté for a few minutes. To this add the powders and roast. Add diced tomato and bell peppers and cook covered for 4 to 5 minutes or till they are cooked (keep stirring every minute).

Now add the sauces and vinegar and mix well. Cook for a minute. Add paneer, salt to taste (remember, the sauces have some salt in them) and kasoori methi and mix gently so as not to break the paneer.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

You can have this as a side dish with Chapati and curd. Or if you are like me and enjoy things spicy, eat it as it is!

Carrot Bajjis (Fritters) / Carrot-a Bajo

I've had 'bajjis' of different vegetables, however, surprisingly, I've never had carrot fritters exclusively. I've had them as a part of a mixed vegetable fritter dish. Infact a few days back, I had them (once again, as a part of a mixed vegetable fritter dish) at a restaurant and made a mental note to batter-fry carrots for my son who loves both carrots and fritters.

Since I made these for my son, I used just one carrot and went very easy with the spices. Feel free to add more spices and increase the quantity of the fritters. My M-I-L adds ajwain which gives a nice taste to the fritters (and has several health benefits) so I added some.

Ingredients :
1 large carrot
2 tbsp besan
1 tbsp maida or cornflour
1 tsp rice flour
1 pinch ajwain
1 pinch jeera (cumin seeds)
1 pinch chilli powder
Salt to taste.

Method:

Wash, peel and chop carrot into 1/4th inch slices. (Mine turned out too thick, next time I will chop them thinner).
In a bowl add the rest of the ingredients. Add enough water and mix well to get a thick batter (I added about 2 tbsp water).
Dip carrot slices one by one and deep fry.

My son looked at the plate and smiled. 'Smiling bajo, smiling sauce', he said.

Baked Potato Chips

Oh well, these may not be as crunchy as the fried ones, but atleast you can eat 'one more' without guilt.
I've been wanting to bake these chips for a long time - ever since my cousin-in-law asked me to make 'healthy lays', but what kept me from making them was a mandoline slicer. I did not have one.
Finally I bought one this weekend, tried these chips out today and wondered why I didn't make these earlier. My husband and son both love chips. I'm hoping my husband likes these (he hasn't eaten them yet) and if he does, well, one more reason to don the apron.

Ingredients :
1 large potato
1 tsp oil
Salt to taste
Chilli powder or any other spices of your choice

Method :
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Wash, dry and slice the potato into very thin slices [I did not peel mine]. It will help if you have a mandoline, you can get equally thin slices. If not, try to slice them as thin as you can with a knife.

Transfer them into a bowl. With a paper towel remove all the excess water. Pour oil [I used olive oil] and mix. Just before baking [otherwise the potato slices will release water], sprinkle salt and chilli powder and mix till all the slices are coated well.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place potato slices in a single file, so that they don't overlap. [You will be doing more than one batch, so don't try to squeeze all the slices on one sheet].

Bake in the preheated oven. The baking time depends on how thin the slices are. Mine were this thin -

- and they took 12 minutes. If your slices are thicker, they can take much more (even upto 20 minutes) and you may have to flip them halfway. Keep checking on them. They can burn easily.

Allow to cool and crisp up.

Give me a bag of fried potato chips any day, but hey, these aren't bad either.

Rava Mushrooms (Shallow-fried)

During my last India trip, my aunt (in-law) made some tasty shallow-fried mushroom by coating them with rava (sooji). I loved the crispy outside and tender insides. Today I was very tempted to make them when I saw a box of mushrooms in my fridge. So I sliced them, threw in some spices, coated them with rava and shallow-fried them. See, it's that simple!

Ingredients :
12 to 14 mushrooms (8 oz/ 227 gm)
Rava (sooji) - 1/4 to 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Juice of lemon (optional, about 2 tsp).

Powders  : (You can use all or some of these. Don't miss the chilli powder for a spicy kick)
3/4 to 1 tsp chilli powder
3/4 tsp jeera (cumin) powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp hing powder


Method :
Once you wash the mushrooms make sure you drain out all the water. You can wash in advance and place on a towel or a large strainer to remove all the water.
Chop mushrooms into slices (about 1/4th inch thick). You can also just cut them into halves.

Place mushrooms slices on a large plate or bowl and sprinkle spicy powders of your choice. Don't add salt. Mix well, coating all the mushrooms with the powders.  Keep aside for 15 mts.

Roll the mushroom slices in rava. [There will be some rava leftover, you needn't use up the entire lot]. Now sprinkle salt to taste and mix.

Heat 2 to 3 tsp oil or ghee in a shallow-bottomed pan and spread it with a spatula. Place mushroom slices and roast (uncovered) for a few minutes on each side till they turn golden brown. Squeeze juice of lemon if you like a lemony taste.

Enjoy the ooze of the juicy insides when you bite into these yummy mushrooms!

Tawa - Roasted Paneer Pudina Tikka

Here's an easy appetizer for your guests which can also serve as an evening snack - just make some mint chutney, marinate paneer in it and shallow fry. [I altered my mint - coriander chutney recipe slightly and used it as the marinade. ]

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups mint leaves
2 cups coriander leaves
2 green chillies
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tsp amchur powder (optional)
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp chaat masala
2 tsp juice of lemon
2 tbsp oil
3 tbsp thick curd / greek yogurt
Salt to taste
400g paneer
Oil for roasting

Method:
Chop paneer into 2" pieces. [I like to keep one side thinner for easier roasting].

Blend ingredients 1 to 10 into a smooth paste (without water).
Add thick curd and salt and pulse 3 to 4 times. [The marinade should be spicy and slightly salty, since it has to accommodate the bland paneer].
Pour this marinade into a large bowl. Dip paneer pieces one by one coating each piece with the marinade.
Refrigerate for  half an hour.

Heat oil in a tawa (shallow pan) and spread with a spatula. Place paneer pieces and roast on medium- low heat for a few minutes on each side till they turn golden brown.

Note  : Serve immediately. Otherwise the paneer will harden if it sits out for a long time. If you cannot serve immediately then before serving, microwave the roasted paneer till it becomes hot and soft. The best bet is to refrigerate the marinated paneer till your guests arrive and roast it just before serving so that your guests can enjoy these beauties when they are soft and succulent.

If the pieces are too big, you can cut them diagonally into little triangles and poke a fancy toothpick in each.

A hint of lemon juice on top will add an even better taste to the tikkas.

[Alternatively, you can bake the paneer at 375ºF for 7 to 8 mts on each side. Grilling tastes great too.]

Spicy Sukha Aloo

Potatoes are not exactly my favourite when they peek out of dishes that include some of my favourites. For example (and some Konkanis may agree) potatoes in alambe songa (mushrooms in spicy sauce) can be every annoying, atleast for me it is. I do not particulary like potatoes in any shrimp or chicken dishes, except maybe vindaloo. That said, I can be crazy about potatoes when they are the prime and only vegetable in the dish. Like batate songa (potatoes in spicy sauce), mashed potatoes, fries, aloo dum and sukha aloo.

Sukha aloo is very easy to make and is a good solution for a quick side dish. In this dish, spices get together and form a thin, aromatic, spicy-tangy crust over the potatoes, making them a pleasure to eat. The ingredient list is quite long but before you know it, they will do their job. Even if you skip a couple of them (except potatoes ofcourse), the rest will bring the act together.

Ingredients:

6 medium potatoes

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp jeera / cumin seeds

1/4 tsp coriander seeds (optional)

1/4 tsp urad dal (optional)

1/2 tsp chopped ginger

2 green chillies, finely chopped

6 to 8 curry leaves (optional)

1 tsp hing powder

1/2 tsp haldi / turmeric powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp jeera powder

2 tsp coriander powder

2 tsp juice of lemon

2 tsp chopped coriander leaves

2 tsp kasoori methi (optional)

Oil

Salt

Method:

Wash and peel potaotes. [I like to keep the skin on of 2 or 3 potatoes]. Chop them into 1/2 to 1" chunks. Boil till they are 90% boiled [I used a microwave]. Drain completely.

In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add coriander seeds, urad dal, jeera and mustard seeds. When they splutter, add ginger, green chillies, curry leaves and hing powder and roast for a minute. Bring the flame to low. Add all the powders and roast for 10 to 15 seconds. [ Make sure the flame is on low, do not over-roast. The powders will get burnt].

Add boiled potatoes, 1 tsp ghee/ oil and roast gently till all the potatoes are coated with the masala. Add salt to taste. Cover and let cook for about 5 to 10 minutes till the potatoes are cooked completely, stirring every 2 minutes. Drizzle lemon juice on top and mix well.

Note : If the dish turns out too spicy, drizzle some more lemon juice. If you need more spice, sprinkle garam masala.

Garnish with coriander leaves or /and kasoori methi. We like it best with chapati and curd.

Stumbler / Scrambled Eggs with Bite-Sized Bread / Scrumbler

This dish is another childhood-favourite. I've been calling it 'stumbler' from the time I can remember. I've had it in a couple of fast-food joints in M'lore most often with a dear cousin, same age as me. During my summer vacations I would end up at her place and we would walk aimlessly, 'accidently' bumping into a particular store to have a plate each of spicy, hot stumbler.
My favourite stumbler, however is prepared by my Pachi who recently corrected me saying it's actually 'scrumbler' and gets it's name from the scrambled eggs in it.

I was expecting a friend and her family for tea today so prepared this dish following Pachi's recipe. It's an easy to make, delicious dish which your guests will enjoy eating.

[Video update on 1/08/2016

 ]

Ingredients:
3 or 4 medium onions
2 tsp chilli powder
2 medium tomatoes
2 green chillies
5 eggs
1 tsp garam masala
4 or 5 slices bread
Salt
Ghee
Oil
Coriander leaves
1 pinch black pepper powder (optional)

Method :
Chop bread slices into small bite-sized squares.
Chop onions, tomatoes and green chillies finely.

In a deep bottomed pan, heat 1 tbsp oil + 1 tbsp ghee. Sauté onions till they turn translucent. Add chilli powder, roast for a couple of minutes and add tomatoes. Sauté till tomatoes are completely cooked. Add minced green chillies and black pepper powder and mix.

Now add eggs one by one, beating each egg till it gets scrambled. [ Add one egg, whisk, add another, whisk ]. To this add garam masala. Now add 2 tsp of ghee and salt to taste and mix. Add the bread slices, mix well and cook for 5 to 6 minutes till the bread becomes soft and pulls in the masalas. [ I added 5 bread slices. If you don't like bread in every bite you can reduce it.  Adjust the spices accordingly].

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Relish it for breakfast, lunch, tea or dinner - it's a complete meal in itself.

Sesame Honey Chilli Potatoes

When I came across this recipe on Shailu's Kitchen, I was reminded of the sweet and sour chicken from Hao Hao that I used to love as a kid (and still do!) This is a completely different dish but honey and chilli seemed like a deadly combination and the sweet and spicy sauce lured me into trying it out.

I had a lot of potatoes in the pantry so thought of using all of them.  You can easily scale down the recipe as per your need.

Ingredients :
10 to 12 medium potatoes [I used red potatoes]
8 garlic cloves
3 tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp tomato sauce
3 tbsp oil
Salt
Spring onions/ coriander leaves
Toasted sesame seeds*

Sauce
4 garlic cloves
4 tbsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp red chilli sauce [I used Ching's]
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey

Method:
Chop potatoes into wedges/ fingers. Peel and chop garlic.
In a large bowl, combine garlic, chilli powder, tomato sauce, oil and salt. Toss in the potato wedges and mix well. Adjust the salt.

You can either bake the potatoes or fry them. Shailu suggests adding cornflour instead of oil while frying the potatoes.

For baking, line a large baking tray with greased foil. Place the potatoes (avoid overlapping) and bake at 400ºF till the potatoes are cooked - about 30 to 35 minutes. Turn the potatoes once in between.

In a pan, heat 1 or 2 tbsp oil.  Add garlic and roast till it turns golden brown . Add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce (except honey) and bring to a light boil.

Add the baked / fried potatoes and honey and mix well. Cook for a couple of minutes until the potatoes are coated with the sauce.
Garnish with spring onion greens and toasted sesame seeds. (If you have regular sesame seeds, just dry roast them on low heat).

I added less honey because I wasn't sure if my husband would like the honey-chilli combo. But he did love this dish, so I will stick to this proportion. You could increase the honey if you prefer the dish a  little sweeter.

Gobi / Cauliflower Manchurian

Gobi manchurian is one of my most favorite vegetarian dishes. A big plate of gobi manchurian never fails to cheer me up. Street vendors usually add a generous helping of red food color to this dish which  greatly adds to it's visual appeal. In India, gobi manchurian is a Chinese dish. But you will not find it it in any Chinese restaurants in the U.S. You will, however find it in many Indian restaurants.

Making gobi manchurian at home can be a long process. So I usually save it for special occasions. This time I made this dish for a friend's b'day party. Here's how I did it:

Ingredients :
1 large cauliflower
1 cup maida (APF)
1/2 cup corn starch (corn flour)
1 tbsp rice flour
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp chilli powder
salt
2 medium onions
8 to 10 garlic cloves
1 " piece ginger
1/2 capsicum
2 to 3 green chillies
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
3 tbsp red chilli sauce *
2 tsp vineger
Corriander leaves
Spring onions
Oil
Ghee (optional)

*I used Ching's red chilli sauce. I find that the best.

Method
Wash and chop cauliflower into bite-sized florets. In a large bowl, mix maida, corn starch, rice flour, ginger garlic paste and red chilli powder. (Adding rice flour to the batter makes the fried cauliflower a little crispy. The sauce will mellow it down. You can avoid the rice flour if you don't want the crispiness.)
Add salt and just enough water to form a paste (dosa batter consistency).The paste should be thick enough to coat the cauliflower floret. Also, it should be slightly salty and spicy, since it should accomodate the bland cauliflower.

Dip the florets in the batter and deep fry in small batches Transfer them onto a paper towel.

Chop finely, onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies and capsicum.

Heat oil in a separate pan. Add onion and saute till it turns translucent. Add garlic, ginger and green chillies and roast some more. Add capsicum and fry well till it is cooked.To this add the soy sauce, tomato ketchup, vinegar and red chilli sauce (Keep tasting as you add. Since you are adding red chilli powder to the cauliflower and also the green chillies, put only as much red chilli sauce as you'd like).

Add 2 tsp ghee (I skipped this). Mix well and let the sauces cook together for a couple of minutes.

Add the fried cauliflower into the sauce and mix gently, till the florets are coated with sauce, taking care not to break the florets. [ I find that adding sauce to cauliflower instead of other way round is a better option. To do this, arrange the fried cauliflower in a large pan and pour the sauce all over it. Mix gently and heat for sometime.]

Garnish with corriander leaves and spring onions.

Dig a fork in it and enjoy!

Stuffed Bell Peppers/ Capsicum

I love the different colours of capsicum. Green, yellow, red, orange - so beautiful, so vibrant!

I was in a mood to create something delicious out of the peppers and thought of baking them with some tasty stuffing.

I saw some recipes with tofu and rice. I wasn't too keen on rice in my peppers, but tofu sounded great! My mother in law makes stuffed okra with besan, so I thought of combining tofu and besan. And here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

4 to 5 bell peppers (capsicum)
1 large onion
1/4 cup besan (bengal gram flour)
1/4 cup peanuts
1 tomato
3 to 4 garlic pods
1" ginger
1 and 1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp jeera (cumin) powder
1 tsp corriander powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 packet tofu (16 oz)
Salt to taste
A few strands of corriander leaves
Oil

Method :

Heat oil. Saute finely chopped onion till they turn translucent. Add besan and roast till the raw smell goes off. Add roasted and skinned peanuts. Add finely chopped ginger and garlic (You could substitute with 2 tsp ginger garlic paste). Fry for sometime. Add all the spice powders, finely chopped tomato and roast for a couple of minutes. Add mashed tofu, salt and corriander leaves. Mix well. Remove from flame.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Slice the peppers vertically, scoop out the seeds.

Drizzle the groove of each half with some oil. Fill and press the stuffing into the grooves so that it goes all the way in. If you want to spice things up, you could sprinkle red chilli flakes on top.

Place (stuffed side up) on a greased oven safe pan. (I used greased aluminium foil on the pan). Bake for 35 to 45 mts till peppers become soft. The red and yellow peppers cook faster and get slightly charred - which makes them tastier.

My favourite is the red capsicum. I used to think it was the hottest. But it is sweet in taste and when you bite into the stuffed red capsicum, you want to eat yet another!

Sending this post to Bake Off and Tasty Tofu Treats.