Bell Pepper Delight!

Oh no! Nooooo!

Oh yes, I chickened out! I hate to admit it but I have been pretty apprehensive about even attempting to type http://www.blogger.com/ in the address bar out of fear that guilt and emotion threaten to overcome me. I do not know if other bloggers experience something as insane as this but I kinda' hate visiting other blogs as well when I set foot into such a self-created predicament. Writing this post is almost like a confession about my dark side in reality. Vee says he suspects I must have suffered some trauma during childhood for me to react in this ridiculous fashion. But I've assured him that that is not the case. I have always been this able-minded individual right since I was a kid (almost like the kid in Robin Cook's Mutation, you know ;)). I have been busy no doubt, but the very feeling that I am unable to be religious in what I started haves me feeling like I want to throw up each time I hear the word "blog". My dear reader, if you didn't think I was that crazy while reading the beginning of this post, I'm sure you must have concluded I am no less than a mad girl whose madness has reached swooning proportions. The funny thing is I have been doing these kitchen expeditions which turned out to be good successes but no, I simply wouldn't click any pictures of those dishes. It is like the urge to click pictures for the blog got thrown out the window and got bulldozed by some roadwork vehicle. A classic case of nut-ism!

Q - So, how do I make peace with myself?

A - By being back with a bang! (Bang reads as a damn good recipe in my "mental" (literally) dictionary!)

Also, Anu kind of prodded me to at least post "something" (anything) because she's absolutely tired of looking at the Oats Pongal post for ages now! Should I waste some of my blog space lamenting about how busy it has been and blah blah? Hell, no! It is clichéd to say "Life is a rollercoaster" but I continue to be appalled by the sudden out-of-the-blue twists and turns. May be that's what keeps one's interest "to live" piqued. Imagine a world where everything was as utopian as it could get - you'd die out of boredom within a month!

Some good healthy recipes have been crowding my inbox these past 3 months which I am hoping will soon transform themselves into blog posts to see the light of the day. :)

Today, I have a lovely recipe up my sleeve to blog about. The name that I have coined for it might be misleading because in reality it is a dry curry which can be had as an accompaniment with any gravy or dal over rice. (Lest I incur the wrath of my Tamil friends here, this is called podi-idicha karamadu in my parents-in-laws' home.) Bell pepper had (yes, "had" not "has"!) been one of my favorite vegetables during my Delhi days. I wonder if it had something to do with the cooler climate in the north that had us hankering for the hot shimla mirch subzi or if it really was the bell pepper we got in Delhi during the 80's that was bursting with oodles of flavor. There was this kid named Ruchika in my class whose swanky lunch box always had some toothsome Punjabi curry or attractive fusion dish in it. Thanks to our moral ethics' cops (a.k.a. prefects), who took it on themselves to ensure the kids shared their food, I always got a bite or two of her appetizing lunches! Back home, I used to urge my mom to make the same dishes, Ruchika's mom's way. It was a tough call for her, since all she had to work with, was a 6-year old's description of the taste and appearance. But since moms' are born kitchen scientists, the outcome always turned out palatable, close to the original and more than enough to bring a smile on a kid's face. The huge hybrid bell pepper that we find in the U.S. sure does have a delicious crunch but it doesn't come close to its Indian counterpart which had a distinct hot taste to it. I personally prefer the red bell peppers to the green ones here. Also, I have taught myself to dress up the American pepper in ways which make the pepper feel special and loved.

Here goes one very South Indian recipe -

Ingredients -

1) Bell peppers - 6 medium-sized ones - chopped into 1" pieces

2) Oil - 2 tspns

3) Mustard - 1 tspn

4) Curry leaves - a few

5) Asafetida - a pinch

Fry in 1 tspn of oil, cool and grind to a coarse powder -

1) Bengal Gram Dal - 3 tspns

2) Whole Urad Dal - 3 tspns

3) Coriander Seeds - 3 tspns

4) Red Chilies - 3

5) Asafetida - a pinch

Method -

1) In a pan, heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds, followed by curry leaves and asafetida.

2) Dunk in the chopped bell pepper.

3) Sprinkle water and cover and cook in low flame until almost cooked.

4) Turn up the heat, fry for a minute and sprinkle the ground powder.

5) Toss around until coated evenly and then continue frying for a few minutes.

6) Serve along with rice and gravy of your choice!

Note - The bell pepper can be substituted with pretty much any vegetable of your choice.