Roasted Bell Pepper (Simla Mirchi) Raita (Yoghurt sauce)

 I make 2 versions of the Roasted Bell Pepper Raita. One with red bell pepper and other with green. Red seems to go well with north Indian dishes and green with south Indian food. I am sure they can be interchanged; I haven't tried them yet.

Red Bell Pepper Raita (for North Indian dishes)

Ingredients

Red Bell pepper - large - 1

Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 1/2 teaspoon

Red chili - 1

Chat Masala - 1/2 teaspoon

Hing (Asafoetida) - 1/8 teaspoon

Salt 1/3 spoon

Cilantro - 1 tablespoon chopped

Yoghurt plain - 1/2 cup

Method

If using an air fryer, set to 400 degrees F and time about 18 minutes (adjust based on your model/make)

make a few incisions on the bell pepper and roast it. Let it cool completely.

Alternately you can also roast in an oven or on a gas flame/grill.

Once cooled, remove the skin of the bell pepper and cut into large pieces.

In a mixer grinder, add the bell pepper, jeera, chilli, chat masala, hing, cilantro and salt and make a fine paste. Transfer to a bowl, add half cup yoghurt and mix well Taste and adjust the salt. If too spicy add little more yoghurt and mix well. It should be tangy, spicy at the same time. Enjoy this as a side dish with your favorite pulav/biryani/roti/naan etc

Green Bell Pepper Raita/kichdi (for south Indian dishes):

Ingredients

Green Bell pepper - large - 1

Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 1/2 teaspoon

Red chili - 1

Salt 1/3 spoon

Curry leaves - 5-6 leaves

Coconut grated - 2 tablespoons

Yoghurt plain - 1/2 cup

Method

If using an air fryer, set to 400 degrees F and time about 18 minutes. (adjust based on your model/make)

make a few incisions on the bell pepper and roast it. Let it cool completely.

Alternately you can also roast in an oven or on a gas flame/grill.

Once cooled, remove the skin of the bell pepper and cut into large pieces.

In a mixer grinder, add the bell pepper, jeera, chilli, coconut, curry leaves, and salt and make a fine paste. Transfer to a bowl, add half cup yoghurt and mix well Taste and adjust the salt. If too spicy add little more yoghurt and mix well. It should be tangy, spicy at the same time. Heat pan in a small pan, add 1 teaspoon oil and half teaspoon black mustard seeds. Once they splutter add it to the bowl and mix with the kichdi/raita.

Enjoy this as a side dish with your favorite south Indian food. It also works great as a side for idli and dosa.

Mushroom Matar (Pattani in Tamil) Kurma recipe

We made the Mushroom Matar (Pattani) Kurma recipe based on the video from Chef Deena. It came out really awesome. The instructions were in Tamil language, turn on subtitles for instructions in English.

https://youtu.be/v28scCbVx8Y?si=by43hyOlycy2hiP8

I made a couple of changes to the recipe.

a. After all the onion, spices, tomatoes were cooked, I made a coarse paste with them. This allows all the spices to be ground and integrated with the gravy.

b. I added above gravy and then added the coconut and cashew nut paste, added the mushroom and peas, boiled for a few minutes.

c. I sliced the fresh mushrooms and boiled them in a separate saucepan with some water, so they cook and become tender. 

d. Since I used frozen organic green peas, I placed the peas in a porcelain bowl, added water and drained the water. Next, I added some water to the peas and microwaved for 2 minutes so they were cooked and soft.

Enjoy with your favorite roti, naan, paratha, basmati rice or jeera rice,