Stuffed Peppers - Pure delight..

My american friends keep asking me this question: "Are there any simple Indian recipes that are quick and easy to make?" and I keep telling them there are plenty of them, and that I need to host a dinner party at my home to show them a few.. Lets face the truth: we can't get splendid food instantly, other than in restaurants. Even a typical comfort food of a simple curry and a quickly stir-fried vegetable will take atleast 30 mins, assuming that our pantry is well-stocked with all the ingredients and we have the right utensils. But there are hundreds of simple recipes in Indian food that use just a few ingredients and are not time consuming. I'm not a big fan of time consuming dishes that have a long list of ingredients and I lack that patience to stir and watch them cook for a long time. I usually like to cook fast and would get out of the kitchen as soon as I am done.

This recipe is one such quick dish with an utterly delicious flavor. Up until a few months ago, I used to stay away from peppers of any kind. Be it the regular green bell pepper or the beautifully colored Yellow and Red Peppers, I somehow didn't like the texture of them. But over the last few months, I happened to taste a few marvelous pepper dishes made by my friends, and now I am completely hooked up to peppers.. One reason is that my friends know how to cook pepper dishes better than me (apparently!) and/or may be its my taste-buds! I've made peace with these vegatables now and can eat them without fussing. Lately, peppers are a standard item in my grocery list and I have started cooking some delicious recipes too.

This is a wonderful recipe that I learnt from my good friend. When I tasted this dish for the first time from her lunch box, I fell in love with it right away. There is something unique in the flavour it offers - mix-up flavors of coconut and peanuts. After knowing the ingredients, I pretty much knew I am going to try them soon and I did right the next day! It came out awesome and I hope you all like it too..

Ingredients:

• Banana Sweet Peppers (Long, straight) - 2 (you will get them in all grocery stores. Its called sweet peppers, but they are not sweet)
• Shredded coconut - 5 tbsp
• Peanut Powder - 5 tbsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Corriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

• Slit the peppers (don't cut them into half), deseed them and apply some salt inside and set aside for a few mins.
• In a bowl, mix all other ingredients to a thick mixture.
• Stuff the pepper with this mixture.
• Heat oil in a pan with lid. Add the peppers and cook them in medium heat covered for 15 mins. Keep turning them every few mins.

Great side dish and goes with rice/curry or rotis.