Stuffed Capsicum Gravy

I got these fresh, long, light green, bell peppers and was wondering what to prepare with this. Finally, I came up with the idea of stuffing these beautiful peppers with potatoes, peanuts etc and then prepare a gravy for this as an accompaniment for roti.

This is my own way of preparing the stuffing. You can add / modify the ingredients as per your taste. I just filled the peppers with potatos, ground peanuts, onions, coriander leaves and some spice powders. You can even add paneer instead of potato or along with the same mixture. And what I am trying to say is that, stuffing is all your choice.

Ingredients

For the stuffing

• Bell peppers of your choice 
• Boiled mashed potatoes - 1 cup
• Onions - 1 , finely chopped
• Coriander leaves - few , finely chopped
• Ground peanut - 1 tblspn
• Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Processed cheese - 2 tblspn (Any cheese of your choice, Optional)
• Salt - as per your taste
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tblspn for shallow frying

For the Gravy

• Onion - 1 no , to fry
• Onion - 1 no , to boil
• Almonds - 1 tblspn
• Cashews - 1 tblspn
• Green chillies - 3 nos
• Water - 1 cup
• Oil / butter - 1 tblspn
• bay leaf - 1
• Cinnamon - 1 small stick
• Cardamom-   nos
• Cloves -  nos
• Ginger garlic paste -  tblspn
• Tomato puree - 1 tblspn
• Yoghurt - 1 tblspn
• Cream - 1 tblspn (Optional)
• Coriander - Cumin powder - 2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - to garnish
• Salt - to taste
• Sugar - 1 tsp

 Method

For stuffed Peppers

• Combine all the ingredients under "For the stuffing" heading except Bell Pappers and oil. 
• Mix everything well and keep it aside.
• Slit the peppers from one side and carefully discard the seeds. Make sure not to remove the top part of the peppers. That holds the shape of the vegetable.
• Stuff the bell peppers with the potato mixture, very gently. Do not over fill the peppers. 
• In a pan, Heat oil and place the stuffed peppers on that. Cook in a medium flame until it is cooked from all the sides. Take care of 2 things at this point. One is, not to burn the peppers. So keep flipping it often. The second is, make sure the stuffing does not come out.
• Once cooked, drain the peppers in a kitchen towel and keep them aside.

   

For the Gravy:

• Boil water in a vessel and add onions, almonds , cashews and green chillies. Cook it for 15 minutes.
• While that is getting done, slice 1 onion and deep fry / shallow fry them until it becomes golden brown.
• Let everything cool down completely and grind all together into a very smooth paste. Any chunks of cashews also should be smoothly ground.
• Heat oil / butter in a pan. Add bay leaves, Cinnamon, Cardamom and cloves. Fry till it releases its nice aroma. 
• Add Ginger garlic paste and cook for a minute. Now add in the prepared onion paste and tomato puree. Allow it to come to 1 boil.
• Add yoghurt, coriander powder, cumin powder and water. Let it cook in a slow flame for about 30 minutes, stirring it in between and adding water as and when it becomes thick
• Check for salt and add accordingly.
• Add garm masala and sugar. At this point, if you wish, you can add cream, but it is completely optional. Switch off the flame.
• When you are ready to serve, First place the stuffed bell peppers i a serving dish. Pour the gravy on top of that and garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve it hot with hot rotis / phulkas / naan.