Mushroom in Black Pepper Sauce

The main ingredient of this recipe is "Thai Black Pepper Sauce".  I recently discovered this sauce in super market shelves and could not be happier more. It tastes so great, you can cook anything with it.

Ingredients

• Button Mushroom - 1 pack
• Red and Yellow Bell pepper - 1/2 each
• Garlic - 2 tsp, chopped
• Whole dry red chilli - 1
• Black Pepper Sauce - 2 tbsp
• Salt
• Olive Oil

Slice the button mushroom after washing it thoroughly. Chop the bell peppers. In a pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil.When it is hot, add chopped garlic and the red chilli and brown it nicely. 

Now add the sliced mushroom with a pinch of salt. Stir fry quickly over high heat. 

When mushrooms start turning brown, add chopped bell peppers and mix well. 

Reduce the heat. after a minute, add 2 tbsp of black pepper sauce with a splash of water. Mix well so that the vegetables are nicely coated with the sauce. Reduce the heat further and let it cook for 5 minutes. 

When the water is reduced completely and mushrooms are cooked, remove from heat. Adjust seasoning. 

Serve with noodles or fried rice or enjoy of its own.

Stuffed Peppers

Got this lovely green beauties today and made the bandh day a superb one by making a stuffing with 'whatever you can find in your pantry' and then microwaving and finally grilling the peppers lightly with some tadka of jeera and hing. Used very little oil to give it a healthy twist.

Ingredients

• Big fat green chillies - 6-8
• Potato - 2, boiled
• Onion - 1, chopped
• Roased peanuts - 1/2 cup
• Black Salt, cumin powder, Red chilli powder
• Cumin seeds - a pinch
• Hing / Asafoetiga - a pinch
• Oil - 1 tsp

Grind the roasted peanuts coarsely, and then make the stuffing with mashed potatoes, chilli powder, chopped onions, Black Salt and cumin powder.

This is how it looks once you mix all the ingredients nicely.

Remove the stem of the peppers and scoop out the seeds carefully. Then stuff them with the mixture. Put them in a microwave safe bowl with a sprinkle of water and micro on high for 5 minutes.

Put a non stick flat frying pan on the flame, add 1 tsp of oil. Then add the cumin seeds with hing.

When they splutter, add the microwaved stuffed peppers carefully on the pan. 

Grill them nicely from all sides 

Serve immediately with your choice of sauce of some interesting dip.

Basa Capsicum masala

Our humble Pangash fish has its new Avtar in the form of Basa, which has flooded the super market now a days. Some fillets were sitting in my fridge, so last Saturday I quickly chopped some basic  ingredients and mix them up with Basa over low heat, it tastes awesome. 

Ingredients

• Basa fillet - 500 gms
• Onion - 1, medium, chopped
• Ginger julienned - 1 tsp
• Garlic, chopped - 1 tsp
• Tomato - 1 , chopped
• Capsicum - 1 , cubed
• Cumin - whole - 1/2 tsp
• Bay leaf - 1
• Whole red chilli - 2-3, chopped
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Salt, turmeric
• Sugar - a pinch
• Oil

Cut the fish fillet into cube and rub salt and turmeric. Keep aside for 10 minutes.
In a pan, heat mustard oil. Then fry the fish cube till golden brown. Keep aside.

In the same pan, add some more oil if required. Then add the bay leaf, whole cumin and dry red chilli.

Then add chopped onion and fry till golden brown. Then add chopped ginger and garlic and continue frying. After 1 minute, add the tomators too and let it become a mash.

Next goes the masala powders, i.e. salt, turmeric and cumin powder. You may add some chilli powder if you like it extra hot. Fry the masalas with a splash of water.

Add a cup of water and let it boil. Then add the fried fish cubes. After 30 seconds, add chopped capsicum. Cook for 5 minutes over low heat, till the water is reduced and gravy thickens. 

Adjust the seasoning. When fish cubes are cooked thoroughly, remove from heat and sprinkle some garam masala powder. 

Serve with roti or rice.

Prawn with Red Pepper

I have made something similar to this long time back and named it as 'Salt and Pepper Prawn'. Was trying to recreate the same with some Red Bell Peppers, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the change in taste.  

Ingredients

• Medium Prawns - 500 gms, peeled and deveined
• Salt - As required
• Cracked black pepper - 1 tbsp.
• Corn flour - 4 tbsp.
• Butter - 1 tbsp.
• Onion - 1, thinly sliced
• Red Bell Pepper - 1 , thinly sliced
• Green chilli - 2-3 , thinly sliced

Combine cornflour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the prawns and toss well to coat all the prawns.

In a large non stick frying pan, heat the butter and then add the prawns in batches stirring occasionally. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes or until they turn pink in color.

 In the same pan, add the thinly sliced onion. Fry till they become soft, then add chopped green chilli.

Add the chopped bell pepper with a pinch of salt and stir fry for 2 - 3 minutes. You may need to add some butter if required.

Add the fried prawns to the pan and mix well till the masala is coated well onto the prawns. 

Adjust the seasoning and serve as snack or side dish.

Bell Pepper Boat

This Tri-Color Bell Pepper boat is a colorful and healthy way to enjoy your vegetables.

Ingredients

• Red, Green and Yellow bell pepper  
• Boiled potato - 2
• Boiled corn - 1 cup
• Onion - 1, sliced finely
• Green Chilli - 1, chopped finely
• Spring Onion - 1 bunch
• Oregano - A pinch
• Salt and sugar - to taste
• Butter - 1 cube

Cut the bell peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds. Sprinkle little salt over it.

Add butter in a frying pan, When it bubbles, add sliced onion and fry lightly. Add chopped spring onions and mix well. Mash the potatoes well and add it the onion mixture. Next add the boiled corn and fry for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle some oregano when almost done.

Remove from heat and let it cool.

Fill all the bell pepper boats with corn- potato stuffings.

Brush oil to a grill pan and heat it on high.

Arranged the bell peppers on the grill pan in a single layer. Grill for 10 minutes till the bell peppers become soft.

Garnish and serve hot.