Pepper Curry

I love green pepper curry which is generally done with peanut, cashew or coconut paste. Not necessarily green pepper, you can substitute cashew with sesame seeds for the famous andhra gutti vankaya kura. The dish is very rich in protein, but the peanut adds load of fat.

When I prepared aloo chole the other day, I thought I could use the channa puree for thickening sauces. So I used the channa puree paste in the green pepper curry to try the low-fat green pepper curry. The taste was great. Since I had boiled channa at hand I used it. Next time I am going to use soaked channa and see whether it cooks in the curry itself.

For this curry I did do home made Garam masala. The recipe for garam masala is as versatile as our own recipes for curry. This chettinad masala recipe I got from ndtv site has been my favourite masala recipe for a long time. Ofcourse, I have customized it according to my taste.


Garam Masala
1 inch cinnamon stick
4 cloves
5 cardamom pods
10 peppercorns
3 dry chillies
2 tsp fennel(saunf)
2 tsp coriander powder or roughly 3 tsp coriander seeds

Roast for a couple of minutes and dry-grind in a coffee grinder. If you are using store-bought garam masala then add 1 tsp of chilli powder to the curry.


Ingredients
- 3 large peppers (Anaheim / banana / bell / capsicum ) cut into large pieces
- two cups presoaked and boiled garbanzo beans
- 1 tomato
- half a big onion
- 3 tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tsp chillipowder ( omit if using the garam masala recipe above )
- pinch turmeric & salt.


1. Saute the chopped onions in a tsp oil.
2. Meanwhile puree the boiled channa and the tomato.
3. When the onion is soft, add puree and garam masala powder and a cup of water.
4. Add salt and cover and cook for 15 minutes.
5. Add the pepper pieces and continue to cook for another 20 minutes. No need to add the pepper along with onion and saute it as we do commonly with any curry. The pepper becomes mushy when added early in the process.

Njoy over rice or chappathis.