Green Bell Pepper with Onions and Chickpea Flour

Green Bell Pepper is one of my most favourite vegetables if not THE most favourite one! Why? There's so much you can do with it, it's easy to chop/slice, cooks fast and has such great flavor, not to mention it's packed with vitamins and antioxidants. What's not to like about it?

This recipe comes from my mom. She makes it pretty often and so do I. It involves few ingredients and it's very easy to make. So here goes...

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients: Green Bell Pepper(4 - large ones), Onions(2 - medium), Chickpea flour(Besan - 3/4 cup), salt to taste,turmeric (a pinch or two), Red chilli powder (1 tsp)

Ingredients for tempering: Olive Oil (2 tsp), mustard seeds (1 tsp), cumin seeds(1 tsp), black gram dhal(2 tsp), dried red chilli (2 - whole)

Cook away...

> Heat a non-stick pan on medium high and add the chickpea flour

> Dry roast it for a couple of minutes, constantly stirring it, until it just starts to get golden brown. Turn off heat and transfer to a separate bowl

>Dice the Onions into long thin slices and the bell pepper into half inch slices

>Put the pan back on medium heat and add the Olive oil and the rest of the ingredients for tempering

>Once the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the onions and the turmeric and let it cook for 3-4 minutes while stirring, until the onions are cooked

> Now add the bell pepper slices and the salt and cook on medium heat covered with a lid for 5-7 minutes until the bell pepper is almost cooked

>Add the chilli powder and cook for an additional minute or so

> Now add the dry roasted chickpea flour and stir so it combines well with the onions and the bell pepper

> Cook the entire mixture for another couple of minutes

>Turn off the heat and transfer into a serving bowl

>Tastes great with Rice or Chapathis or just by itself!

My Thoughts..

>You could skip the dry roasting of the chickpea flour and just go ahead and add it to the bell pepper and onion mixture but I've found that dry roasting it enhances it's flavor that much more and just makes the dish extra yummy

>In the past, I've also added a little bit of tamarind juice (extract) while cooking the onions and bell peppers. It adds that little tangy taste to the dish

>You can skip the onions if you don't have them on hand, it will still taste good!

Until next time, add some bell pepper to your day :)