Stuffed Capsicum (Bell Peppers) in Tomato Gravy

I always think I'll get more time to spend on my blog on weekends than weekdays but somehow its always the other way round. This weekend I made Stuffed Capsicum in Tomato gravy & it was delicious. This dish has all my favorites from Indian cuisine - potato, paneer as stuffing & tomato gravy. 

Ingredients: 
For Stuffing: 

2 capsicums (bell peppers of any color of your choice) cut into half
1 medium potato boiled
1 cube of paneer (around 200 gms) grated
5-6 small spring onions chopped (or use regular onion finely chopped)
2-3 small spring onion green chopped
½ teaspoon ginger paste
½ teaspoon garlic paste
½ teaspoon green chili paste
salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon oil for cooking
Masala for stuffing: 
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder (or to taste)
1 teaspoon cumin seed powder
½ tablespoon coriander powder
¼ teaspoon of garam masala
½ teaspoon amchur powder (or to taste)
½ teaspoon chaat masala (optional and to taste)

For Gravy: 

1 medium sized onion finely chopped
1 cup tomato puree
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon green chili paste
1-2 tablespoon cream
2 tablespoon of tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
salt to taste
1 tablespoon oil for cooking
Masala for gravy: 
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
½ tablespoon coriander powder
½ to 1 teaspoon of Punjabi Garam Masala
pinch of sugar (optional)

Method: 
For Stuffing: 

• Heat oil in pan & once hot add the spring onions. Saute for a minute then add the ginger, garlic & green chili paste & saute again.
• When onions are soft, add all the ingredients listed under 'Masala for stuffing' followed by salt & pepper to taste. Mix well. 
• Then add the grated potato & paneer & mix well so that everything is well combined. 
• Add some chopped spring onion greens & mix again.
• That's it our Stuffing is ready. Keep this aside. 

For Gravy: 

• Heat oil in a pan & once hot add cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the onions & saute till they turn light brown. 
• Then add the ginger, garlic & green chili paste & saute again for a minute or till the garlic smell disappears.
• Add the tomato puree & mix for a minute.
• Now add the ingredients listed under 'Masala for gravy'  followed by salt & mix well. Add some tomato ketchup & cook till you see the mixture leaving oil from the sides (approximately 5 mins). 
• Now add some water (around a cup) to make the gravy consistency. Add some cream to increase the richness of this gravy.
• Simmer on low heat for 5 mins. Garnish with coriander leaves.
• That's it our tomato gravy is ready. Keep this aside. 

Assembling the dish:

• Preheat the oven to 400F. Line the baking sheet with aluminium foil. 
• Rub some salt & pepper to the inside of the capsicum & line them on the foil. 
• Stuff each capsicum with sufficient quantity of stuffing & bake them for around 15-20 mins or till you see the edges turn brown. You can also pan roast them in a little oil and cover and cook till you see them soft and slight brown. 

• Take the serving dish & pour some tomato gravy on the bottom & line these baked stuffed capsicum on it. Spread some more tomato gravy on top of capsicum. 
• Garnish with some coriander leaves, cream & serve hot. 

Enjoy this delicious treat with some Rice/Roti/Chapati/Naan or any indian bread of your choice. 

Happy Cooking!!
Shweta