Peruvian Dish Rocoto Relleno/ Stuffed Bell Peppers

I simply love my gang of lovely ladies of the Wild Asparagus Table who keep us updated with cuisines from around the world.
This time we were visiting Peru and trying  out Peruvian dishes in our virtual  potluck monthy meet.

Rocoto Relleno is the dish I am trying  for the first time. Even though it was time consuming and had various cooking procedures the end result was fabulous and worth all the efforts.

In Peru, this recipe is made with rocotos, but they are difficult to find in the India so Red bell peppers work well as a substitute. I added bit more spices to even out the sweetness of the raisins. And you can substitute chicken mince for beef in this Rocoto Relleno recipe 

Ingredients

1 onion (chopped)
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp garlic paste
3 large bell pepperd
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 large tomato
1 tbsp chilly sauce
1/2 kg  beef mince
1 hard-boiled egg (coarsely chopped)
1 cup grated cheese
1 tsp chilly powder
1/2 cup boiled green peas
Salt and pepper to taste
1 sprig of parsley

Method

1 Sauté the chopped onions and garlic, and peppers in the olive oil until  they turn soft and translucent.

2. Add hot water to the raisins and let  the raisins swell up and become  plump.

3. Add the cumin powder, chilly powder and stir for 2 minutes more.

4. Add the beef mince and cook until browned. Add one  cup broth or water for cooking at this stage.

5. While the beef is cooking, boil water in another vessel. Slice the tops off of the bell pepper and keep aside. Clean the inside of the peppers, removing the seeds and veins. Now add to boiling water and keep for ten minutes. Drain the bellpeppers and dry with paper towels.

6. Add the chilly sauce and chopped tomato and cook till the beef is cooked.

7. Drain the raisins and add them to the beef. Let it simmer.for 5 minutes until most of the liquid is gone.

8. Stir in the chopped hard-boiled egg and boiled green peas and season it  with salt and pepper to taste.

9.  Lastly add the cheese to the beef mixture.

10. Now fill  each pepper with some of the beef mixtures. And top it with the bellpepper

11. Place the peppers on a baking tray and bake the peppers for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and peppers get tad bit softer.
You can even pan sear the peppers on all sides in a frying  pan with a closed lid.

This was my version of Rocoto Relleno. Bon Appetit!!

Recipe of Leftover Rice Cutlets

What do you do with leftover rice? Our large hearts and good feeding intentions sometimes get us to cook a larger portion of rice leading to leftovers.
This time I decided to put together a healthy snack recipe of Rice cutlets for an evening snack.

Here the cooked rice will be mixed with veggies and spices and is pan-fried. The rice cutlets come out well done on the outside and soft inside. Delicious and have to be served nice and hot. 

Here is how to do leftover rice cutlets. This recipe will make 12 to 15 palm-size cutlets. The preparation and cooking time of this dish is not more than 30 minutes, so it can be made just half-hour prior to tea time.

Ingredients 

 2 cups of leftover cooked rice

1 finely chopped onion
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 grated beetroot
1 boiled and mashed potato
1 chopped green chilly
2 tbsp gram flour
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
Pinch of sugar
1tsp lime juice
Salt to taste
Oil for shallow frying

Method 

1. Take a mixing bowl and add the two cups of cooked rice. Mash lightly with the back of a spoon.

2. Add in finely chopped onions, chopped green chilies, coriander leaves, mashed potato, grated carrot, and beetroot. Give it a stir.

3. Add the salt, sugar, lime juice, dry spices and gram flour. Now knead with your hands to make a dough.

4. The dough should not be sticky.  Check it by rolling on your palm to make a ball. If it sticks you can add a little more gram flour.

5. Now divide the dough into small round balls and flatten with your palm.

6.  Make oval shape cutlets, this is something different than the regular round Tikki shaped ones.

7. Take a non-stick frying pan, add a little oil to cover the bottom. When the pan is hot add the cutlets and brown them on one side.

8. Now flip them over and cook on the other side. This can be done on the slow flame so that the cutlets cook through.

9. Remove them on a dish. Now serve it with a vegetable salad and tomato ketchup at tea time.

Note

You can avoid the beetroot and add grated cabbage instead.

If you not having gram flour at home, substitute it with rice flour or bread as a binding agent.

Another variation for this recipe would be making ladoo shaped balls of the dough and dipping it in egg batter to deep fry them. This can be savored at mealtime.

The best part of this recipe is the experience of savoring it. It is so yummy that no one can tell it's made from leftover rice.

 

If you have a unique leftover rice recipe, I would love to hear from you on anahitairani200@gmail.com. And can invite you to do a guest post on my Blog.

Till then, keep it simple yet yummy for your family. 🍳🥘🍲🥣🥗

You can also check recipes for - Veg Shammi Kebabs 
                                                  - Spicy Mince Kebabs
 

Maharashtrian style stuffed brinjal masala

Hello Friends,

I want to narrate an incident before I start the recipe of the day. This is when l was newly married. I still remember the episode while I was buying brinjals at a vegetable market in Worli. The vegetable vendor asked me how I was going to prepare it. Baingan ka Bharta is what I replied. It's easy to prepare and turns out delicious, I added.
 She then shared a typical Maharastrian stuffed Brinjal recipe with coconut and peanuts.  She even shared a recipe to stuff dry masala in brinjals and cook it quickly without much fuss.

Previously I have shared a baingan bharta recipe with you. Today I am attempting to make the same stuffed version with peanuts and other spices. So let's get Cooking with Sweetannu.

 

Ingredients 


250 gms small brinjals 
3 tbsp oil 


For Masala Stuffing 

1 chopped onion 
2 tbsp peanut powder 
2 tbsp grated coconut
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp corriander powder
Juice of one lime
1 tsp sugar or jaggery
1 tap ginger garlic paste
Corriander leaves for garnish
Salt to taste

Method


 -->Wash and cut the brinjal as shown in picture, ready for stuffing. 


Preparing Stuffing

-->Take a pan, add one tbsp oil. Add onions and saute till translucent.

--> Add Peanuts to it. Dry Roast until they are nicely done.

--> Now add the grated coconut and ginger garlic paste to this and roast till it changes colour. 

--> Remove this mix in a plate.

--> To this mixture add dry spices, lime, salt and sugar. 

--> Stuff the slit brinjals with this mixture. 

--> In the pan now add 2 tbsp oil, place the brinjals in it.

--> Cover and cook the dish on low flame.

--> You can add half a cup of water if you feel the brinjals are sticking to the pan.

--> Let the water dry completely.

 Garnish with corriander and serve it with  it on the side with simple daal, rice and sliced tomatoes. 😋😋😋

Surmai fish curry with tamarind and coconut

Hello Friends,


I just realized that I have posted many chicken recipes and hardly any for fish. Actually eating fish is very healthy as its lower in fat content. Some oily fish are a rich source of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It's also packed with protein, vitamin B-12 and selenium. I can go on and on with its health benefits but lets get cooking with Surmai (King fish) and make a spicy sour curry with tamarind and coconut milk. 

 
 

Fish is very delicate and doesn't take time to cook like chicken or mutton. King fish has no scales, is an oily fish with only one bone in the middle. It is indeed a fleshy and tasty fish. Note the ingredients this fish curry needs. It can be achieved in 30 minutes or under.

Fresh King Fish

  Ingredients

·        500 gms Kingfish (you can use pomfret too)

·        2 tbsp grated coconut

·        2 tbsp oil

·        2 chopped onions

·        2  chopped tomatoes

·        1 tsp mustard seeds (rai)

·        ½ tsp turmeric

·        1 tsp red chilli powder 

·        1 sprig curry leaves

·        100 gms coconut milk

·        100 gms tamarind pulp 

·        2 cups water 

·        1 tsp ginger garlic paste

·        1 tsp garam masala 

Method 

For Masala

1. Fry the chopped onions in 1 tbsp oil until lightly golden. Add grated coconut curry leaves, garam masala and chilly powder
2. Add the tomatoes to this. Let it all cook together.  
3. Now when this mixture is cool; blend it in a mixer to make a coarse paste. If needed add 2 tbsp water to blend well.
   
   
   For Curry  
1. Add one tbsp oil to the kadai.To the oil  add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
2. Now add the ground masala mixture to the oil and saute it for 5 minutes. 
3. Now add the ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder to this
4.  Add tamarind pulp and coconut milk with one  cup water. Bring it to a boil. Cook until the oil begins to separate and the gravy thickens a bit.
5.  Place the washed pieces of fish slowly and cook on a medium heat cover and cook for 5 more minutes.
6. Add salt to taste.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves. 
   

Serve with pride on the dining table with steamed rice, papad, salad..... and. Oh, I missed the pickle in this picture. But you can add a spoonful of pickle on your plate because it will only enhance the taste of the tamarind fish curry  to make it a finger licking experience.

If you have any queries be free to ask me in the comments below.