Vegetarian stuffed bell peppers!

So, let me guess what must be going through your mind....Bell peppers...and that too stuffed? I was a bit skeptical myself when I first saw the recipe. Off late though, A wants to go on a veggie diet, and I thought of jazzing things up a bit lolz! After all, variety is the spice of life, na? I was getting fed up of making the same old beans and ladies fingers, so, for a change, so  as soon as I saw this on you tube, I had to go for it. The original recipe is from Hema Kundargi who has a lovely channel on you tube titled the Indian Vegetarian. Thanks once again Hema aunty!

Bell peppers are a beautiful vegetable, coz they look so vibrant and full of life. When cutting a bell pepper, always cut through the middle in order to retain the stem. I actually trimmed the stems to make it look better. I have made a few variations to the original recipe I saw, but then again, no one can go wrong with this one. So, let's see how easy breezy it is to make this wonderful, healthy and colorful dish!

INGREDIENTS

• Six bell peppers, cut through the middle. You can scoop out the membrane inside to give more room for the stuffing.
• 1 medium sized can chickpeas or garbanzo beans. I used the brand "California Garden". 
• 6-7 baby potatoes. You can also use the medium sized potatoes, in which case, you will require 3.
• Yogurt- 4-5 teaspoons
• 1 garlic pod, roughly chopped
• Bunch of coriander leaves (you can also replace with mint or pudina leaves).
• Bunch of chives (optional).
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds.
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
• Garam masala (All spice powder)- A pinch (optional)
• Red chilly powder- 1/4 teaspoon (optional)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (I use extra virgin)
• Salt to taste

METHOD

• Drain out all the water from the canned chickpeas. Wash them under tap water at least thrice to get rid of the sodium content. Place these into a large bowl.
• Boil baby potatoes along with a pinch of turmeric powder and some salt for 10-15 minutes till they become soft. Mash the chick peas and potatoes together. You can mash potatoes with their skin.
• To this, add yogurt, coriander leaves( you can replace with mint or pudina), chives (optional), the powders and salt.
• In a pan, heat oil and saute garlic followed by cumin seeds till they give out a nice aroma.
• Add this to the chickpea potato mixture and blend thoroughly.
• Scoop enough into each of the pepper halves. Refrigerate the ones that you will not be using.
• Set aside the ones to be used for at least 15 minutes.
• Brush some olive oil at the base of the oven dish. Place the stuffed peppers facing upwards, so that the mixture is on top.
• Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If using a gas oven, bake it gas mark 5 for about 10 minutes. I baked both sides for 10 minutes each, so a total of 20 minutes.

Serve immediately. Garnish with chickpeas or coriander leaves (optional).

And voila! Colorful, tasty stuffed bell peppers are ready!! So, here's the final product.

And another one..

So, what do you think? Easy breezy right? Doesn't it look nice and toasty?This can be served as the starter at a meal, or it can be a meal in itself. If you want, you can drizzle some ketchup or hot sauce on top, though I don't think there's a need to. It contains potatoes which give you your daily dose of carbs, yogurt for calcium, leaves for your general health...So, do try this out and let me know how it turns out! Until next time, take care and God bless darlins!