Alu Capsicum

I have seen 'Singing Families', 'Acting Families' before, but I guess my family can be categorized as the 'Cooking family'. Dad, mom, brother & I - all enjoy cooking, and now my SIL has joined the league too! Although dad doesn't cook quite often as the rest of us do, whenever or whatever he does - it ends up very tasty. One such dish was the Alu Capsicum curry that he introduced to us. My mom makes Curry Powder at home, and it makes a very good substitute for Chilli powder. Spice freaks like me, can enjoy the combination of Curry powder along with Chilli powder. Here are the recipes for both the Curry Powder as well as Alu Capsicum Curry...


Ingredients for Curry Powder

Chana Dal (Senagapappu) - 1 Cup
Urad Dal (Minapappu) - 1 Cup
Whole Red Chillies - 20
Dry Coconut Powder or Flakes - 3 tbsp
Oil to fry

Recipe:

* Fry the first three ingredients in a tsp of oil until golden brown. A wonderful aroma comes out from the fried lentils. Take off from flame and cool for a while.

* Grind the above to a coarse powder along with Coconut Powder.

* Store in an air tight container and use as and when required. I use this powder, when I'm bored of the basic cooking. Love the taste when added to potatoes, brinjals and capsicum. I haven't experimented so far by adding it to any other veggies.

Ingredients for Alu Capsicum Curry: (Serves 4 to 6)

Potatoes - 4 Peeled & sliced length-wise
Capsicum - 5 Deseeded & sliced length-wise (If using Bell Peppers, you can limit the quantity to 3)
Curry Powder - 2 tsp (Adjust accordingly)
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp (Optional)
Salt
Oil
Pinch of turmeric
For Tempering : A tsp of mustard seeds, A tsp of Cumin seeds, few Curry Leaves and a couple of Red Chillies.

Recipe:

* In a pan, heat oil and get started with the tempering.

* Add the Potatoes and turmeric, cover and cook for about 5-6 mins on medium flame.

* When the potatoes are half-cooked, add capsicum and cover and cook for few more mins. Unfortunately, all I get here in the US are Bell Peppers and the curry gets soggy because of their high water content :-(

* Add salt, chilli powder and Curry Powder and stir well. For a crispy finish, fry for some more time turning occassionally. Tastes great when served hot with Rice.

This is off to "AFAM - Bell Peppers" guest hosted by Priya, and originally started by Maheshwari and "JFI - Chillies" a brain child of Mahanandi, currenty hosted at Cardamom along with couple of my previous entries...

Stuffed Capsicum in a spicy gravy

and Tortilla Roll-ups