Capsicum and Potato Curry

 

The morning after the day long fast of ‘Shivarathri’ last sunday, I was looking to make a quick early meal to satisfy our hunger pangs. Although the after-dusk naivedyam of watermelon, musk-melon, bananas and sweet potatoes were enough to get by that night, we were (at-least I was!) waiting for dawn to cook and eat a nice filling meal! I quickly made palak/spinach dal and this curry while hubby helped in making some ‘sheera’. Before sitting down to eat, I managed to take a few quick shots of this tasty and easy dish!

Capsicum is one gorgeous vegetable….don’t you think? The deep green color and it’s versatility to be used in sandwiches, soups, curries is quite impressive. I love adding them to noodles and pasta too. Furthermore, stuffed capsicums are something I absolutely drool over. I was mostly accustomed to making capsicum curry with tomatoes until my husband introduced his way of combining capsicum and potatoes to give a delicious side-dish that goes perfectly well with rice and/or rotis or tortillas. Since then, there has been no looking back. Now, this is the version I often make and love – Capsicum and Potatoes!

This curry is really simple….capsicum chunks and potato cubes cooked together with the addition of just a few everyday spices. The only ground spices I used are turmeric and red chilli powder. For tempering, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and cloves are all I used. To add a light crunch and a soft nutty flavor I added some toasted sesame seeds. Nothing fancy here…but serve this along-side rice and it’s a satisfying tasty meal in itself.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Serves: 4 or 5

Recipe

– Capsicum/Bell Pepper – 4 (medium-sized)
– Potatoes – 3 or 4 (small-sized)
– Onions – 1 large
– Green Chillies – 3
– Oil – 2 tsps
– Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
– Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
– Cloves – 2
– Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
– Red Chilli powder – 1n1/2 tsp (or less as per taste)
– Salt – 1n1/2 tsp (or to taste)
– Sesame Seeds (lightly toasted) – 1 tsp – for garnish
– Coriander leaves (roughly chopped) – for garnish

1. Rinse the veggies well under running water. Chop capsicum into medium-sized chunks removing all the super hot seeds inside. Peel and cut the potatoes into 2 inch cubes and set aside.

2. In a skillet, heat about 2 tsps of oil (I use canola oil…as it is low in saturated fat and does not have any odor and/or flavor by itself). Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cloves and saute for a minute until they sizzle.

3. Add finely chopped onions and green chillies. Saute for a few minutes until the onions are translucent. Add turmeric, red chilli powder/paprika and salt. Mix well and saute for a couple of mins.

4. Now, add all the capsicum chunks. Mix well. Cover and let cook for around 10 to 12 mins. At this point, capsicum should be half-done. Add potatoes now. Mix well and further cook for 10 to 12 mins. (I used microwavable baby potatoes and they were nice and soft. So, I added these when capsicum was half-done. If you are using some really hard potatoes, add them when you add capsicum or boil them first and then add them to the skillet at this stage.) Check if the capsicum and potatoes are nicely cooked. Adjust salt if needed. Turn off the stove.

5. In a small pan, take about 1 tsp of sesame seeds and toast them until palely brown.

Take the curry into a serving dish and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice and/or rotis.

 

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