Besani Shimla Mirch (Rajasthani Spicy Bell Pepper)

For all you dear lovers of Bell Pepper/ Capsicum, here's an authentic Indian recipe for Besani Shimla Mirch (Spicy Bell Pepper). I love the way my mami (aunty) makes it and this is just an attempt to be 10% of what she makes. :)

BESANI SHIMLA MIRCH:

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

Health Meter:

Capsicum contains health benefiting alkaloid compound capsaicin, which gives strong spicy pungent character. Early laboratory studies on experimental mammals suggest that capsaicin has anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic and anti-diabetic properties. The vegetable has antioxidant properties, which help neutralize the free radicals responsible for damaging tissue and cells. The vegetable helps reduce cholesterol and thus, is effective in warding off strokes and heart attacks.

Ingredients:

1. Shimla Mirch/Capsicum/ Bell Pepper(medium size, any color) : 2

2. Gram Flour: 1 cup

3. Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp

4. Coriander Powder: 2 and 1/2 tsp

5. Red Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp

6. Cumin Powder(jeera) - 1/2 tsp

7. Asafoetida/heeng: a pinch

8. Amchoor Powder (Dry mango powder): 3 tsp
9. Mustard Seeds: 1/2 tsp

10. Salt: 2 tsp or as per taste

11. Oil: 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Wash the capsicum well, dry it with a cloth and chop into small pieces.
2. Now take oil in a pan and heat it. Once heated, add mustard seeds and wait till they crackle. Keep the flame on medium. Now add asafoetida followed by the chopped capsicum (make sure there's no water left in the chopped pieces).
3. Fry for 3 minutes on low flame.
4. Now add all the spices except amchoor powder and salt and cook for 3 minutes. Cover the pan for 3-5 minutes, keeping the flame still low.
5. At last add the gram flour/besan followed by the amchoor powder and salt; mix well. Cook it till it goes slightly brown. If the quantity of oil is less, the gram flour/besan will stick to the bottom and stay undercooked.
6. At last, add 1 tbs of water and cook for 3-5 minutes. Keep stirring to make sure the gram flour is not sticking to the bottom.

Tips:

1. In the chance of saving calories, please do not reduce the quantity of oil else the gram flour/besan will not get optimally cooked.
2. The gram flour will keep sticking to the bottom, so keep stirring.
3. Make sure the gram flour goes golden brown and leaves a typical aroma (like how we get while making 'besan laddoos'...ohh ab ye kya yaad aa gaya!! ;))
4. If you want, you could add chopped onions along with the capsicum. 
5. Enjoy this with garma-garam chapati/roti flooded with ghee. (I know this sounds weird to people who are calorie conscious).

Banana Fruit Cake

I always keep searching for recipes with 'bananas' as I don't like eating them and the nutrients in them don't allow me to do the same. In this run for banana desserts, I eventually came out with a nutritious, kids' favorite, tantalizing Banana Fruit Cake. The recipe is super-simple and the taste super-yummy! :)

BANANA FRUIT CAKE:

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Health Meter: Banana is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin B6.

Fun Fact:  

A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are known as fingers.

Ingredients:

1. Maida/ All Purpose Flour: 1 cup

2. Butter: 1/2 cup

3. Ripe Robust Banana: 1

4. Powdered Sugar: 1 cup

5. Egg: 1

6. Eno Fruit Salt (non flavored): 1 tsp

Method:

1. Sift the maida/all purpose flour with the Eno fruit salt thrice.
2. Grease and dust the baking tin and keep it aside.
3. Pre-heat the oven on 200 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes.
4. Take the butter and beat sugar with it till it goes light and fluffy. Do not melt the butter, rather keep it at room temperature.
5.  Peel off the banana and puree it in a blender.
6. Add the all purpose flour mix to the butter slowly with the cut and fold method. 
7. Beat the egg separately in a bowl.
8. Now add the beaten egg and the banana puree alternately while mixing well. 
9. Make sure you get a ribbon consistency while folding it.
10. Now transfer this mixture into the greased pan and bake it on 200 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
11. Check the cake after 20 minutes by seeing if the cake edges have left the corners; if so, then insert a tooth-pick and see if it comes out clean. When this happens, your cake is ready. 
12. Take the tin out and let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Once it has cooled down, invert the cake on a plate, making sure it doesn't break.
13. Now turn the side and decorate it the way you like, like I did it with almonds and pistachios.

Suggestions:

1. Always cut and fold the mixture in a single direction. Cutting and Folding is nothing but mixing the cake in a circular fashion (like how you make a circle) and then cutting this circle into half and again circling.
2. In some cases, the cake shrinks in the middle and doesn't come out puffy; this happens either when the mixture is too loose or when you keep pricking the cake too often to check if it's done, out of anxiety. So, please be careful with this.
3. Do not invert the cake before it cools down else it would break (I know you just can't wait to taste it, but take a deep breath and hold on for some time. ;)) 
4. If you don't have Eno Fruit Salt with you, then you can use 1 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp baking soda in its place, though I prefer to make it with Eno which makes it divinely soft and spongy. 

 Did you know: As bananas ripen, the starch in the fruit turns to sugar. Therefore, the riper the banana the sweeter it will taste. 

Cream o' Mango

Luscious, juicy, toothsome mangoes with a tint of cream and ice-cream...yummm

And on the top of that, it just takes 10 minutes to prepare this beautiful-looking, pleasing-to-the-taste dessert.

 

CREAM O' MANGO:

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 0 minutes

Serves: 4

Health Meter: Every part of the mango is beneficial and has been utilized in folk remedies in some form or another. Whether the bark, leaves, skin or pit; all have been concocted into various types of treatments or preventatives down through the centuries. A partial list of the many medicinal properties and purported uses attributed to the mango tree are as follows: anti-viral, anti-parasitic, anti-septic, anti-tussive (cough), anti-asthmatic, expectorant, cardiotonic, contraceptive, aphrodisiac, hypotensive, laxative, stomachic (beneficial to digestion).

Ingredients:

1. Ripe Mango (pureed) : 1

2. Amul fresh cream: 200 ml ( 1 pack)

3. Vanila ice-cream: 1 cup

4. Sugar: 4 tsp or as per taste

5. Mango cubes(small): 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Take the ice-cream out of the refrigerator and let it melt in a bowl.

2. Peel off the ripe mango, add sugar to it and puree it in a mixer/blender.

3. Add Amul Fresh cream to it and mix well.

4. Now add the molten ice-cream to it and stir well to give a frothy texture.

5. Embellish with fresh mango tiny cubes.

Tips:

1. I recommend using Alphonso/ Mallika/Dasheri Mangoes owing to their special sweetness.

2. You could also top this cream on mango smoothies or mango shake.

3. Another great variation could be 'Mango Kulfis' by simply freezing this mixture in kulfi moulds.

 Sending this to:

My event: Cakes, Cookies and Desserts