Bharva Mirchi- Stuffed Green Chilli Peppers with Besan or Chick Pea Flour

I am leaving for India in just about two hours, but then my friend Anshie of spriceroots , asked me to participate in an online blogger food event and I could not say no to her. I was wanting to post a recipe before I left for India and this provided an excellent chance. I have so many pictures on my hard drive, but no time to sort them out and do a post. So when she asked me to join in the event, I agreed. The event is called 'Know your flours' with a focus on Chick Peas. Indian cuisine has an extensive use of chickpeas flour, all sorts of vegetable fritters fried dipped in chickpea batter, being one. I had some fresh green chilli peppers lying with me. I decided to do a stuffed version which is popular in my state. Something like a fresh pickle if you will. I made only four of them but you can make as many as you like. Serve them warm with a main of rice-dal or for morning brekkie of paranthas and yoghurt. Finger licking good and really easy to not only assemble but to cook as well.

Ingredients:

4 fresh, green chilli peppers, long ones, washed, dried, slit in the middle and deseeded. Jalapenos will be fine.
1 cup of chickpea flour
1/2 tsp of fennel seeds
1/2 tsp
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
1tsp of amchur (mango) powder
1/2 tsp of ajwain seeds (carraway)
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp each of very finely chopped onions and fresh corriander leaves
1 tbsp of raw mustard oil

Combine all of the above in a plate except for the chillies. Now stuff the slit green chillies with this mixture and keep aside. Do a taste test, sometimes a little extra salt, than you would normally use, is required.

For the Tempering:

1 tsp of mustard seeds
2 tbsp of mustard oil
a few pods of fresh garlic

How to:

In a wok heat 2 tbsp of mustard oil untill smoking. Chuck in mustard seeds and let splutter. Throw in garlic pods. Place the stuffed chillies in to this wok, brown on all sides for approx two to four minutes on  medium flame. Wait to get brown specks on the chillies. Lower the flame to low, cover the wok with a dinner/flat lid or plate. Now put 1 cup of water over this plate, so that the steaming action will soften and cook the chillies underneath. Chickpeas take 'longish' to cook, so cooking these stuffed  a good fiteen to twenty minutes on low flame, covered will do the trick. Thats it! Done! This will stay in the fridge up to a week if you dont use onions, else 2-3 days. Store in an air tight container. You may adjust the tanginess, heat and salt factor according to your taste. If you have extra stuffing left, use it to make stuffed paranthas or simply just sprinkle it all over the chillies before you cover them. They make a moist, tasty crust on top and sides of the chillies.

Linking to Anshie's  Know Your Flours: Besan Chickpea Flour blog event. Do hop over to check out other entries and to participate even!
 

A Different Take on Okra

I grew up eating Okra prepared the same way, every time, all the time. It soon became painful and my fondness for Okra ended pretty much permanently. In the last few years , I have mostly ignored cooking it. Untill a few days ago, when my friend A also said a firm NO to my offer of cooking Okra for her.That got me thinking. How could I make it more pleasing to the pallette, surely something could be done? I sat and brainstormed and the result was this recipe. Flavoured with a simple spice blend and stir fried in a mushy tomato paste. Finished off with just a dash of lemon juice. If you have a painful association with Okra, I think this recipe will undo all that damage!

How To:

Fresh tender Okra/Bhindi: 1/2 kilo
Tomato: 1 large, chopped fine
Ginger/Garlic paste: 1 tbsp

Corriander seeds: 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Dry, whole red chillis: 4-5 (or less if you want)
Turmeric powder: about 1 tsp, levelled
Salt to taste
Oil for frying : 5 tbsp+3tbsp
Fresh lemon juice: 1-2 tsp

Wash and pat dry the Okra. Cut in to inch long pieces. Smear with a little salt and the turmeric powder. In a 'kadai' (Indian wok) , heat about 5 tbsp of oil. Now add the chopped Okra. Saute for five minutes on high flame. Keep aside.

PS- I forgot to put turmeric in the Okra myself. So anyway, added it while I was frying it. No harm done.

In the same wok, heat the remaining 3tbsp of oil. Once heated through, add ginger/garlic paste and saute. Keep the flame on medium. Brown the paste and once the raw smell of the paste is gone, tip in the tomatoes. At this point increase the flame to high and keep sauteing. After about five minutes, the tomatoes will start to get mushy. We need to get a jam like consistency, you can flatten the tomato mixture with the back of your spatula.

PS- again, I forgot to first brown my ginger/garlic paste. So added it as and when I remembered. Again, no harm done. It all has to get squishy-sqaushy anyway.

 Now add the Okra which you had kept aside. Also sprinkle over this, your spice powder and mix thoroughly. Season with salt. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes on very low flame. By now the Okra and tomatoes will both be cooked through. You will notice that Okra will also not be slimy-sticky. This is because we had pan fried it lightly in tumeric already! Just before serving warm, drizzle a bit of fresh lemon juice.

Serve with any Indian bread and Dal fry.