Capsicum Aloo

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to today's edition of cooking with Varun! In our last encounter we learned:

1. Sookhi sabzis make up a sizeable percentage of traditional Indian meals.
2. A sookhi sabzi with dal chawal qualifies as comfort food.
3. Varun will never go vegetarian.
4. Varun owns (pink) fluffy socks and likes classical music.

Today, we will continue down the road of sookhi sabzis (following which we might hang a right to the city of meat and then a left to the land of confused north Indian fare pretending to be south Indian). Our dish for today is capsicum aloo (green peppers with potatoes if you're not from the subcontinent). Now, I personally feel that capsicum is one of the most versatile and flavourful veggies out there. From freshening up salads to crisping up fajitas, all the way across to complementing all that meat on your pizza to sitting proudly in a spicy Chinese stir-fry or simply being stuffed with a hearty filling, capsicum is one of my favourite vegetables and I hope to, with this next dish, make it one of your favourites too!

This dish is a very simple typical Punjabi dish with clean flavours and a big impact. The soft potatoes supported admirably by the slightly crunchy capsicum and onions and a hint of chilli that hits you with each bite will definitely have you reaching for seconds. So without further ado, onwards!

For capsicum aloo you will need the following:

Capsicum (green peppers)          3 large
Potatoes                                    2 medium to large
Onion                                        1 medium
Jeera (cumin)                            1 tsp
Red chilli powder                        1 tsp
Haldi (turmeric)                         pinch
Dhaniya (coriander) powder        2-3 tsp
Jeera (cumin) powder                1/2 tsp
Green chillies                             2-3
Salt                                           to taste
Oil

Prep:

1. Cube the potatoes.
2. Find a bowl.
3. Toss in the potatoes.
4. Top the bowl up with boiling water to speed up the cooking process.
5. Slice the onion lengthwise.
6. Chop the chillies.
7. Cut the capsicum into cubes.
8. As with all things Punjabi, don't make those dainty little cubes. Make nice man sized pieces. 

Method:

1. Turn the gas on.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Count to 15.
5. Grab the lid to the pan.
6. Smile triumphantly.
7. Count another 5.
8. Add the jeera to the oil.
9. Slap the lid on before the sputtering begins.
10. Listen to the lid being pelted with sizzing jeera.
11. Wait till the sputtering dies down a little.
12. Tentatively open the lid a crack.
13. Slide in the chillies.
14. Slide the lid back on.
15. Enjoy more sputtering.
16. Count to 10.
17. Bravely slide open the lid.
18. Add in the onions.
19. Cook until the onions go translucent.
20. Drain the water from the potatoes.
21. Bounce the potatoes into the pan.
22. Add in about half the dhaniya powder, red chilli powder, jeera powder and the haldi.
23. Cook for a few minutes.
24. Add in the capsicum.
25. Add in the rest of the powders.
26. Channel your inner noodle chef and toss the contents of the pan.
27. Cook until the capsicum starts to get soft.
28. Turn the gas off.
29. Take pan to the table.
30. Serve with hot rotis.
31. Stuff face.
32. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Don't overcook the capsicum. Overcooked capsicum is gross and is likely to put you off capsicum altogether. This is why it is added last in most of the dishes it features in. You want the capsicum to be firm when you bite into it.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!