Food talk
Pepper treat

The health conscious are sure to relish bharwan mirch, which uses very
little fat and does away with the potato filling, says Pushpesh Pant

WE must confess that ever since multi-hued sweet bell peppers have been available, we haven’t looked at the old faithful the green Simla mirch. At times, this makes us feel guilty. One remembers the shuddh vegetarian restaurant in CP in mid-1960s that used to delight us once with its stuffed capsicums and how can one forget the mouth-watering alu-Simla mirch that Naushad Miyan served to provide the counterpoint to his meaty dishes.

Back home in the hills, sagiya mirch (that’s what it is called in Uttarakhand) it is paired with torai and muli and cooked dry or in a yoghurt-based gravy. Countless are the days when just a large capsicum left over in the fridge saved the day when some unexpected guest or a family member in a hurry had to be served a quick-fix meal. Sliced tomatoes and onions stir-fried with it provided a most appetising accompaniment to a parantha or filling for a grilled sandwich. Minimal spicing was required and a light, tasty meal could be enjoyed.

Now, we aren’t ungrateful by nature but how can one overlook that the green capsicum has a much stronger, slightly bitter if not handled with care taste that begins to jar. True the coloured sweet tasting beauties are far more expensive but remember a little goes a long way and in any case we are talking of dazzling delicacies to be prepared on special occasions.

The recipe we share with our readers uses very little fat, does away with the potato filling and should appeal to the health conscious even more.

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