A homestyle bell pepper stir-fry

In over two decades of cooking, and even more decades of eating, so many recipes have come in and out of my life. Sometimes I will forget about a dish for months and years, and when I make it again, it is a joyful little reunion. That's what happened with a three-pack of green bell peppers this weekend that I rescued from the clearance produce rack of the supermarket. 

I do buy green bell peppers routinely, usually using them in supporting roles in fajita-style and Chinese-style stir-fries. This time I was reminded of the Maharashtrian homestyle dish called "peeth perun bhaji", which translates roughly as "sowing flour into a vegetable dish". It is a classic Marathi way to make a quick side-dish, where you stir fry vegetables- which could be something like cabbage or capsicum/ bell pepper, or a green leafy veg, or even green onions- and you add a bit of chickpea flour/ besan, to add some body and heft to the dish. 

We ate this simple dish with rice and homemade yogurt and a Swiss chard dal, and I can honestly say it is a best thing I ate all week. Here's a brief recipe with annotations.

Bell Pepper Peeth Perun Bhaji

1. Heat 1-2 tsp. oil in a pan and temper it with mustard seeds, asafetida and turmeric powder. This is the classic first step of Maharashtrian cooking, with a phodni/tadka/tempering of the trio- halad (turmeric), hing (asafetida), mohri (mustard seeds)
2. Now in go 3 diced bell peppers and salt. 
3. Add other spices- red chili powder and cumin-coriander powder. Dhana-jeera powder or cumin coriander powder is another classic addition- it adds plenty of flavor without heat. The red chili powder (or minced fresh green chilies) bring the heat.
4. Stir fry for a few minutes. 
5. Now add 3 tbsp. chickpea flour or besan and 2 tbsp. crushed roasted peanuts. The peanut powder or danyacha koot is another Marathi pantry staple and adds flavor, texture and nuttiness to many simple dishes.
6. Cover and cook on low-medium heat for 10 minutes or more, until peppers are soft and the dish is cooked through.
7. Finally, add 1-2 tsp. sugar or jaggery, and a generous handful of minced fresh cilantro. I'm a fan of the Maharastrian goda jevan which is typified by a hint of sweetness in savory dishes. It brings out and rounds out the flavors.

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It has been a busy couple of weeks due to hosting various groups of friends/ colleagues on weekends, and running to the kids' after-school activities on weekdays. I don't get as much time to read as I'd like, but manage to read a few pages before bed. The current bedside book is Dandelion Wine, a 1957 novel by Ray Bradbury, the acclaimed author probably best known for writing Fahrenheit 451. I love his short story, There Will Come Soft Rains. 

Dandelion Wine is a semi-autographical work based on Bradbury's boyhood, set in the summer of 1928 in the fictional town of Green Town, Illinois. As I'm reading this, I don't find a major plot line here. It is a series of vignettes or short stories/anecdotes about 12-year old Douglas and the simple joys of summer. “Sandwich outdoors isn’t a sandwich anymore. Tastes different than indoors, notice? Got more spice. Tastes like mint and pinesap. Does wonders for the appetite.” This book is prose but reads like poetry. I'm lost in the beauty of the words and couldn't tell you the story if there is one. 

The reason I picked up this book was because of a prompt in the POPSugar reading challenge, #2: A bildungsroman. What a great word (one of those German combo words.) A bildungsroman is a genre that includes books about growing up or "coming of age", or more strictly, psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood. I must say my very favorite bildungsroman is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the 1943 semi-autobiographical novel by Betty Smith. If you haven't already read it I highly recommend it. 

Also reading- a fun interactive NYTimes article on menu trends (full gift article here). I love perusing restaurant menus for home cooking inspiration. 

And Kamini's evocative travel article- it transported me to the mangroves. 

Tell me the highlights of your January!