What goes into my hubby’s lunch box is a question I ask him every night before bed ๐ usually, he goes along with whatever I decide. But there are days…when I let him decide! And I indulge him…sometimes, when he craves Masala Puris…I pair it with spicy potato curry or my spicy Bharwa Baigan ๐…a combo made in heaven! He even prefers a spicy Veg Pulav with some curd raita…! Wow!ย
So last week…post dinner he asks me to pack some Besan wali Shimla Mirch Aloo (his favourite)ย in his lunch box the next morning with some Phulkas๐ and some salad! Pretty straight forward stuff..but I had never packed this for his lunch box till date!! ๐ณ I wasn’t sure if it would keep well packed for 4-5 hours….asked my mom, she too wasn’t sure…having never packed this before for us. So I asked my blogger bestie Deepti Gupta, if it would stay fresh…and she said yes it would!! She has some amazing recipes over at Cookoholichomemaker.…you can check out her version of Besanwali Shimlamirchย too๐ Mine is a bit different though…it’s my mom’s recipe..๐
This is really quick recipe…prefect for rushed mornings…or even quick side dish for your rice & dal combo! If you like, you can avoid the potatoes or capsicum…anything you like! ๐ lets get on with the recipe:
Serves: 1 (had made it for hubby’s lunch box)
Equipment: a heavy bottom wok with a lid, measuring cups/ spoons, a mixing spoon.
Ingredients:
3 nos. green bell pepper/ capsicum/ Shimla Mirch
2 nos. potato
4 tbsp chick pea flour/ besan
salt to taste
2-3 tbsp mustard oil (use refined oil or ghee if you don’t prefer mustard oil)
A pinch of hing (asafoetida)
1 tsp paanch phoran (a mix of nigella seeds/ mangrela + saunf/ aniseeds + rai/ mustard seeds + jeera/ cumin seeds + methi/ fenugreek seeds)
1/2 tsp red chilli pwd
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
1/2 tbsp cumin/ jeera pwd
1/2 tbsp dhaniya/ coriander pwd
1/4 tsp amchur/ dry mango pwd
Chopped coriander leaves to garnish
Method:
Peel & clean the potatoes & de-seed the capsicum. Wash, dry & cut everything into equal sized cubes. Set aside.
Heat the wok, add the Besan without any oil. Keep stirring it in low-medium flame until you get an earthy aroma & the colour changes to light pink. It will take about 5 mins. It will look like this. Be careful that it should not burn or turn darker in colour. Remove it in a bowl and set it aside.
Heat the oil in the same wok. I was using mustard oil, so I let heated it till it smoked a bit, cooled it down and then started cooking (use refined oil ghee by simply heating it as usual).
Now add the paanch phoran (used extensively in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh & Kolkata. It’s very aromatic, however u can simply use cumin or mustard seeds in case you don’t use paanch phoran in your cooking)
Once the seeds start crackling around, add hing. Next, add the cubed veggies. Immediately season with salt & turmeric. Mix well and cover cook until the veggies are soft. It will take about 10 mins on low-medium flame. Then take off the lid, add the chilli pwd, cumin pwd & coriander pwd. Stir well & cook without lid for 5-7 mins. Next add the roasted besan & amchur pwd. Mix well so that the besan coats everything well. Cook for another 5-6 mins. Turn off the flame and garnish with chopped coriander. ๐ that’s it! Serve with phulkas or parathas!
Hubby was excited to get his favourite and I got a ‘happy’ text from him during lunch time ๐
Love,
Shreya๐
Shreya!! Thanku for sharing this.. I was looking for some quick dinner option.. Though don’t have all the masalas available but I am going to make this tonite.. will update u on how it turned out ๐ ur looks great..
Tnx for stopping by Monika ๐ do try…will wait for your feedback! N yes u can replace the spices as per the availability. ..add lime juice if u r out of amchur pwd. .cos it must have a bit of tang.. hope this helps.
Such an interesting recipe
Tnx sonal๐
Hi…first time in your blog..loved the recipe….used to put besan without roasting it..never liked the raw taste..thanks for sharing the recipe.And yes I am from Odisha and paanch phoran is also extensive ly used in our state..specially with mustard oil.
Tnx for stopping by Saswati๐ I m glad u have liked the recipe. ..Yes roasting the besan adds to the flavours. And as for d paanch Phoran…u already know about it!! I love it in so many preparations specially with mustard oil ๐
Great..I will also try
Thanks dear…do share your feedback/ pics .. I hope you enjoy it.๐
Hi, just loved the flavours, though I skipped the panch foran but used saunf and it tasted yummy…โบ
Thanks a lot Neha, I am glad you liked it ๐