The Beauty of Bell Pepper

Crispy bell pepper-corn salad

Crispy bell pepper-corn salad

Ingredients
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves/parsley
1 tbsp sugar/honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
Handful of dry fruits
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
50 gm paneer, diced
1 tbsp sweet corn, blanched
Salt and pepper to taste

Method: Mix lemon juice, coriander/parsley, sugar/honey, garlic and olive oil in a bowl. Place peppers, corn and paneer in a non stick pan with a few drops of olive oil and toss them till a little crisp. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the lemon juice mixture on the bell pepper and paneer mixture. Add the dry fruits and mix thoroughly. Cover and chill for an hour or more to allow flavours to blend. You can store this salad for up to a day in the fridge.

Himalayan red rice and bell pepper ragu

Himalayan red rice and bell pepper ragu

Ingredients
 3 tbsp cold pressed sesame oil
  2 tbsp olive oil
 ½ onion
 ½ zucchini
  ½ cup yellow squash
  1/3 yellow bell pepper
 1/3 green bell pepper
 1/3 red bell pepper
 ½ eggplant
  3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
 1 tsp of red chilli flakes
 A pinch of smoked paprika
  3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
  A few leaves of fresh thyme
  A few sprigs of fresh sage
  A few leaves of fresh oregano
  A few sprigs of fresh parsley
  1 tbsp of tomato puree
  20 ml white wine
  1 cup red rice, boiled and drained
  2-3 drops of hot sauce
 Salt and pepper to taste

Method: Cut the onion, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, red, yellow and green bell peppers into large squares. In a hot pan, add the olive oil, onions, garlic, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers and eggplant. Sauté for two to three minutes till the vegetables are translucent. Add red chilli flakes and smoked paprika and mix well.Season the vegetables with salt and add a few sprigs of thyme, sage and oregano. Mix in the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and a few sprigs of parsley. Pour in the white wine, add the cooked red rice and toss well. Season it with cracked black pepper, salt and hot sauce.Then cover with aluminium foil and cook in the oven for five minutes at 1800C. Garnish with chopped parsley and sesame oil.

Red Capsicum Salsa with Melba toast

Red Capsicum Salsa with Melba toast

Ingredients
 100 gm red bell peppers
 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
 4 tbsp lemon juice
 1 tbsp grated jaggery

Method: Roast the bell peppers until slightly charred. Peel the skin and remove the seeds. Blend it and add lemon juice, salt and jaggery to taste.Melba toast is a dry, crisp and thinly sliced toast. To make Melba toast, cut the crusts off fresh slices of bread. Roll them out thin and fine with a rolling pin. Slice them down and brown in a moderate oven until crisp.Serve with the salsa and assorted pickled vegetables.

Roasted red bell pepper soup

Roasted red bell pepper soup

Ingredients
 2 tbsp sesame oil
 ½ stalk spring onions
 30 gm leek
 2 stalks celery
 1 tbsp ginger
 2 red bell peppers
 1 tomato
 1 tsp paprika
 60 ml tomato juice
 1 litre vegetable stock
 3-4 basil leaves
 Juice and zest of ½ orange
 Few sprigs of oregano

Method:In a heavy bottomed pan, sweat the spring onions, leeks and celery. Add the red bell peppers, ginger and tomatoes. Cook for about five to six minutes. Add the paprika powder, red chillies and tomato juice to the pan and cook for six more minutes. Add the vegetable stock and cook till all the veggies are soft. Blend the soup in a mixer till very smooth. Add orange zest, chopped parsley and oregano. Strain into a bowl. Garnish with basil leaves. Serve hot or cold.

Stuffed Bell peppers

Stuffed Bell peppers

Ingredients
3 bell peppers, any colour
2 tbsp oil
for stuffing
¾ cup keema
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp jeera powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1½ tsp chat masala
1 tsp amchoor
½ tsp garam masala
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp coriander leaves
3 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Method: Wash, pat dry and cut the bell peppers into two halves. Using a sharp knife deseed them. Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions till they turn soft. Add ginger-garlic paste, salt, turmeric powder and fry it. Fry till the spices are cooked well and oil leaves the side of the pan. Add chopped tomatoes, keema and all the other dry masala, cover and cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle garam masala and switch off the flame. Preheat the oven at 1800C for 10 minutes. Stuff the keema mixture into the pepper. Arrange these peppers in a baking tray and brush it with oil. Bake for 30 minutes. You can also grill them in a flat bottomed pan or grill pan or griddle by adding little oil and covering it, without turning them over. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.