CAPSICUM MASALA RICE

CAPSICUM   MASALA   RICE

      Whatever is prepared in my kitchen is mostly healthy. Because I like my family to eat healthy and be healthy. Health, Health and Taste --- this is my motto --- this means two-thirds I concentrate on health and one-third I concentrate on taste. That doesn't mean the recipes mentioned here are less in taste as my family doesn't compromise on taste. And I don't compromise on health. So, all the recipes mentioned here are good both health wise and taste wise.

      Capsicum - also known as bell pepper and sweet peppers have very good nutritional values. It contains huge amounts of Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Vitamin A. They also contain good amount of fibre which is very important for our body. They are rich in anti-oxidants and help increase the immunity in our body.

      My daughter has less immunity and is prone to more illnesses especially during rainy and winter seasons. So I prepare dishes adding capsicum to any curry, be it gravy or fry as they have a nice crunchy texture and hence go well with any bland dishes. They are not too hot ( spicy ), and can be happily added to adjust to kids taste buds. There are many variations with respect to capsicum masala rice. But the recipe mentioned here is what my family has accepted. The correct amount of spiciness, the correct amount of masala and the correct amount of crunchiness is what is required for this recipe.

    

I had some red, green and yellow capsicums in my fridge. We can prepare with any single colour capsicum as well but the nutritive benefits of red and yellow capsicum is more than that of green capsicum. It is said that the natural colored vegetables and fruits are more rich in anti oxidants than the most common and regular colored veggies. And moreover, using various colored veggies in our food looks very appealing. This is a combination of different spices with crunchy capsicum slices. This is a great lunch box idea too. Lets get straight to the recipe.

Method :


Dry roast mustard seeds until they splutter. Keep aside.

 Dry roast cumin seeds until nice aroma comes. Be careful not to burn or over roast. Keep aside. You can mix to the mustard seeds fried above.

 Dry roast coriander seeds until nice aroma comes. Keep stirring continuously for even frying. Mix to the cumin and mustard seeds above. Keep aside.

 Dry roast groundnuts until the skin turns slightly black in colour. Mix to above fried ingredients. Keep aside.

 Dry  roast red chillies without burning. Keep stirring continuously. Add to the above fried ingredients and keep aside to cool.

While this is cooling, cook rice in a pressure cooker along with bay leaf , dalchin, cloves, star anise.

Meanwhile, finely chop the capsicum and keep them ready.

 Spread rice on a large plate and cool to make it nice and grainy.

Ground the above roasted spices to a coarse powder. Remember, the mixture should be coarse as we should feel the groundnuts when chewing. Keep this aside.

Heat butter or ghee and add onions , ginger garlic paste. Fry until the raw smell disappears.

 Once onions are translucent add curry leaf powder. Add turmeric and fry for a minute.

Add capsicum pieces. Fry for a little while. Make sure that the capsicum doesn't become soft and retains its crunchiness.

   Add the coarse spice powder, salt and mix well.

Once a nice aroma comes switch off the flame and add this to the spread rice. Mix well.

Serve with any raita or curd.

I generally serve this with plain curd. Serve this hot or can be packed for lunch. This can be prepared for parties, picnics and other events as well with slight variations to make it special.

Preparation time : 30 minutes
Cooking time : 20 minutes

Ingredients to make capsicum masala rice :

Capsicum - 3
Onion - 2 medium
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Ghee or butter - 2 tbsp
Curry leaf powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Rice - 3 cups
Dalchin - 2" piece
Bay leaf - 1
Cloves - 4
Star anise - 1 petal
Salt - as per taste

For  Dry roast :

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
Groundnuts - 4 tbsp
Dry red chillies - 4

Method for preparing capsicum masala rice :

1. Dry roast all the ingredients under `` for dry roast ``. Keep stirring continuously to avoid over-roasting and burning the ingredients.
2. Keep aside and let them cool.
3. Pressure cook rice along with these spices - dalchin, bay leaf, star anise and cloves.
4. Finely chop the capsicum and onion. Prepare ginger garlic paste.
5. Make a coarse powder of the above dry roasted ingredients.
6. Spread the cooked rice onto a wide plate to cool and make it grainy.
7. Heat butter in a pan. Once it melts, add onion and ginger garlic paste. Fry until the raw smell disappears.
8. Add curry leaf powder and turmeric. Fry for a minute.
9. Add chopped capsicum pieces and fry for approximately 4-5 minutes. The capsicum should not become soft and should retain its crunchiness.
10. Add the ground coarse powder and salt. Mix well so that the capsicum pieces are nicely coated with the masala.
11. Remove from flame and add to the cooled rice. Mix gently taking care not to break the rice.
12. Serve hot with plain curd or any raita.

Notes :

1. Add three or four more dry chillies if you want it to be more spicy.

2. Butter can be substituted with ghee.

3. Fried masala chickpeas or green peas can be added.

4. Grated carrot can be added to make it more nutritious.

5. One tablespoon of sprouted moong dal can be added.