Fat free Stuffed Peppers - Stuffed Shimla Mirch

Hello and wish you all a very Happy New Year. The New Year generally ends a long period of indulgence that starts with Diwali and ends with Christmas. After so much revelry, most of us are tired of eating the heavy food but are also somewhat addicted to it. The New year is always the time for resolutions to stay on plan, eat healthy etc., and whether you follow it for a long term or not, you definitely end up eating some less calories, which can only be good for you.

One way of reducing a lot of calories from your food is fat free cooking. Some plans such as Eat to Live and McDougall advocate cutting out oil and fats from your diets altogether ( ETL does allow you some nuts and seeds daily). I have bought some books on 'zero oil' cooking from chefs such as Tarla Dalal and Sanjeev Kapoor, but I found that they substituted oil with skim milk or nuts often times. True fat free cooking should have none of the sources of fat. I am not a nutritionist, and not qualified to give anyone advice. So it is up to you if you eat 100% fat free, or eat one dish fat free. You are definitely eating something healthy compared to before.

Stuffed capsicum or stuffed bell peppers have been a favorite in our family for several years. Please do not confuse them with the jumbo peppers stuffed with meat/rice and baked in an oven. This is a purely Indian dish that is generally stir fried in a wok. Potatoes are boiled and mashed along with aromatic spices and stuffed in baby green peppers. These are then stir fried in a wok. This process generally needs a lot of oil, but I managed to make it totally fat free. The trick here is a good non stick pan and a lot of patience. The recipe is as follows -

Ingredients -

7-8 baby green peppers
4-5 medium potatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp Dry mango or Amchur
salt to taste

Method -

1) Boil, peel and mash potatoes. Add all spices, and mix well. Adjust seasoning. This should be well seasoned.
2) Wash and destem peppers. Remove the seeds and white membranes. If you are lucky, you will get the really small peppers or capsicums. This dish is specifically made with the small sized peppers.
3) stuff the potato mixture in all the peppers. The amount of potatoes needed might vary based on the size of the pepper.
4) Heat a thick bottomed non-stick pan or wok. Add the peppers and do not stir until they get a sear on one side. Turn over gently and sear on the other side.
5) Add a splash or two of water to avoid sticking and cover well. Keep the heat on low and let the peppers steam.
6) Check the water level periodically. After the peppers look almost cooked, remove the cover and heat until the liquid evaporates. Sprinkle some salt on the top of the peppers if needed.
7) The peppers are done when the skins look crumpled and the peppers reduce in size a bit.
8) Serve hot with rotis or rice or just on its own with a salad.

This is a great way to convert a popular favorite into something healthy and is worth a try.

Jeera Alu Shimla Mirch (Cumin flavoured potatoes and peppers) - quick and easy all-time favourite

Lofty mountains, picturesque valleys, swirling mists, chilly breezes, and tummies grumbling for food - this is how I remember one nostalgic afternoon in Kodaikanal, one of the popular hillstations in Southern India. The resort had a restaurant perched on a hilltop with glass all around where you could see the valley view all around you. The food was piping hot - simple roti and Alu Subji, but with a slightly different recipe than the usual thing we ate at home. The aroma of that dish has stayed with me along with happy memories of a great vacation. As young as I was that time, I did not waste any time recreating the simple comforting dish the moment I got home.

Fast forwarding to the present day, Alu Shimla Mirch has always been a very popular dish in our home, and the goto dish when any last minute guests turned up. The flavour of the green pepper or capsicum elevates the everyday potato to a different level, and a strong dose of cumin with a secret spice further makes this taste exotic.

This vegetable dish is ready in a jiffy, since in a typical Indian home, the potatoes are boiled in a pressure cooker along with the usual rice and daal. The green peppers are coarsel chopped meanwhile and then they are stir fried together with the spices. In the wintertime, we sometimes get small green peppers, and my mother makes a further variation where she stuffs the boiled mashed potatoes into the peppers and then sautees them in a pan. This changes the presentation but the taste is the same as the following recipe.

Ingredients -

4-5 large potatoes

3 green peppers

1 Tbsp cumin seeds

3-4 green cardamom pods(elaichi)

hing and turmeric

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp oil

salt to taste

pinch sugar

Method -

1) Scrub and clean the potatoes and boil them either in a pressure cooker or in a pot of boiling water. You can also microwave them if in a hurry, but the texture is slightly different from boiled potatoes. You can use 4-5 Idaho potatoes or 10-12 small new potatoes. Peel and chop the potatoes.

Note - the ratio of potatoes versus peppers here is more to your liking and also on how much the peppers cost :). There will not be much of a difference in flavour if you add 2 versus three or four peppers, since this is a strong flavoured vegetable. More peppers of course mean more vitamin C and more nutrition.

2) Destem the peppers and remove all white parts. Cut into largish pieces, such that the pieces will be intact even after getting cooked.

3) Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and cardamom pods. As they splutter, add hing and turmeric powder. Immediately add the chopped peppers. Sautee for some time until the peppers are cooked.

4) Add the chopped potatoes, the cayenne pepper, salt and a pinch of sugar. Stir everything together and cover. Let it simmer for five minutes.

5) Your Alu Shimla Mirch is ready to be devoured.

This is a simple and easy family favourite that is liked by young and old alike. I hope you try this simple recipe and let me know what you think.