Bell Pepper/ Capsicum Avakaya

Blogging Marathon# 34: Week 1/ Day 2
Theme: Cooking with Capsicum/ Peppers
Dish: Green Pepper/ Capsicum Avakaya

Day 2 of BM# 34 and today I have a spicy hot Andhra pickle made ith green bell peppers. I'm just learning that every vegetable can be used to make avakaya. I asked my mom what to make for this week's 'Cooking with Bell Peppers/  Capsicum' theme and she said let's make 'Avakaya'.
I wasn't sure how it was going to taste, but went ahead with her proposal. It was sure spicy and tasted just like hmmmm.. avakaya should taste like but with milder bell pepper instead of sour mango. I guess you can use any color pepper, but we used green pepper here.

I think any veggie can be made into 'avakaya'. I saw someone on a cooking show make 'eggplant' avakaya which by the way my mom and I tried right away. It tasted great to me (you know my love for eggplants.. don't you?? if not check my collection of eggplant recipes), but just OK to everyone else. May be one day I'll make it again to post here.

Here's how my mom made Bell Pepper/ Capsicum Avakaya:
Ingredients:
Bell peppers/ Capsicum - 2 medium, chopped into 1" pieces
Tamarind pulp - 2tbsp
Red chili powder (preferably pickle chili powder) - 2½tbsp
Ground fenugreek - 1tsp
Salt - to taste (~2tbsp)

For Tempering:
Gingely oil - 2~3tbsp
Mustard seeds - 2tsp
Garlic cloves - 3~4, minced (use 1tsp hing or asafoetida instead of garlic cloves)

Method:

• Heat 2tsp oil in a pan, add the chopped peppers and cook on medium flame until the pieces are lose their crunch and are slightly tender. Turn off the heat and remove them into a bowl.
• Add tamarind pulp, red chili powder, ground fenugreek and salt to the cooked capsicum. Mix well.
• Heat 3tbsp oil in a small saucepan, add mustard seeds and once the seeds start to splutter add garlic cloves and turn off the heat. Let the tempering cool for a little bit before adding to the capsicum mixture.

Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container in the fridge. Serve with steamed rice or upma or idli or dosa or as a spicy sandwich spread.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 34.