Stuffed Capsicum in Tomato gravy (Bharwan Shimla Mirch)

My brother had come across this dish at one of the restaurants he had been to. The sabji was made with capsicum/ bell peppers stuffed with a basic stuffing of cheese & potato. The stuffed capsicums were later shallow fried and served with a rich tomato onion gravy.

It is an easy and different variant of our regular kofta curry. So this weekend, instead of making the same regular sabji, try this age old but not so common recipe.

Serving: For 3 people

Difficulty Level: Medium

Ingredients:

For the stuffing:

• 3 Capsicum – Cut into thick slices
• 4 Boiled potatoes
• Salt to taste
• Finely chopped coriander leaves
• 1 cube processed cheese
• Red chilly powder
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 1 small Onion
• Oil to cook

For the gravy:

• 3 medium sized tomatoes
• 2 medium sized onion
• 6-7 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp Red chilly powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp cumin coriander powder
• 1 tbsp fresh cream
• Oil
• 1 bayleaf
• 1 cardamom
• 1-2 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon
• Water

Procedure:

For stuffed capsicum

1. For the stuffing, take boil potatoes in a mixing bowl and mash it. Meanwhile, take oil in a pan and saute finely chopped garlic and onion until they turn brown.
2. Mix the onion – garlic with smashed potatoes, add in cheese and season it with salt, red chilly powder and coriander leaves.
3. The mixture should be properly binded, you can also add cornflour in case you feel that the mixture will loosen up.
4. Make roundels of the mixture and stuff each capsicum slice with it. Make sure that the stuffing is tightly pressed inside the capsicum.

For the gravy

1. Take oil & ghee in a pan and add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaf to it. Let the oil turn fragrant and add in garlic and roughly chopped onions
2. Once the onion become transparent, add in the roughly chopped tomatoes. Cover the pan with a lid and let the vegetables turn soft.
3. Let it cool down and blend it into a smooth gravy.
4. Take some oil and ghee in a pan, pour in the gravy and let it cook and simmer for at least 4-5 minutes. Season the gravy with salt, red chilly powder and coriander – cumin powder.
5. Let it cook and pour in water. Adjust the consistency as per your preference.
6. Once the masalas have integrated well into the gravy, add fresh cream. Stir well and let the gravy simmer.
7. Place the stuffed capsicum in the gravy and let it cook for 3-4 minutes
8. Serve hot with Naan or paratha.

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