GREEN PEPPER WITH CHESTNUT SIDE DISH

GREEN PEPPER WITH CHESTNUT SIDE DISH

(Green pepper subzi in baghare baingan style with chestnut)

Whenever I have visited India in winter, I have enjoyed a fruit called ‘singhara’ and its name in English is water chestnut. It has a dark green colored shell and pure milky white flesh inside. I have no idea how this fruit got the name of a nut.

Chestnut is a new member of the family of my grocery list (pantry) because I had never seen or used it before I came to Canada. It’s strange that there are a fruit and a nut with the name ‘chestnut’. Although I don’t see any resemblance between the two, the only similarity I see is the flat outer skin shape, which is the same for both.

Three years ago, when I saw these nuts for the first time in the shops, I had no idea how to use or eat these nuts. I was also surprised to see that their prices were very low compared to other nuts, and they were only available in winter season.

I wanted to try them so I bought one kilogram of these nuts in their shells, assuming they are like raw peanuts and thought that I will boil or roast and use them in my kitchen and will try some new recipes with them.

When I read about chestnuts on the Internet, to my big surprise I found them low in calories and high in fiber. Quickly an idea came to my mind to replace peanuts with chestnuts. In Indian cuisine in some of the recipes we use peanuts, and they have high-fat content and they are high in calories too. So I was eager and exited to use this new ingredient, in my kitchen. We foodies or bloggers feel excited when we get a new ingredient and try some new recipes.

In Indian cuisine, there is a recipe of “bhagare baigan”, a very tasty, sweet and sour dish of Andhra Pradesh in which brinjals (eggplants) are cooked in a peanut gravy. But here I have replaced- brinjal with green pepper and chestnuts with peanuts, but the rest of the ingredients are the same with the same flavors. I am sharing this recipe on my blog because it was a great hit in my family when I tried it for the first time with green pepper and chestnuts.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 3 big green bell pepper (500grams) sliced in small pieces
• 1 big finally chopped onions
• 200 grams boiled and ground chestnut/tinned chestnut (If you do not get chestnut, you can use groundnuts) *
• 2 tbs sesame seeds
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 4 tbs lemon juice/tamarind juice
• 4 tbs brown sugar or jaggery
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• Few curry leaves
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tbs oil

* I boiled chestnuts in a pressure cooker for five minutes after the whistle.

METHOD

• Dry roast sesame seeds, grind when cold, keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a frying pan on medium flame, splutter the mustard seeds.
• Add onion and saute till light brown, add curry leaves saute for one minute and add sliced green pepper with salt and coriander powder, cover the lid.
• Check after 8-10 minutes till the pepper is done, if bell pepper is releasing too much water, slow the gas till water evaporates.
• Add chestnut, sesame seeds, brown sugar, lemon juice, and black pepper and mix well.

This can be served to 4-5 people with roti, nan or dinner bun or rice.

I am sending this recipe as my blog post entry with Great idea Thursday, and with My Two fav things on Thursday, and with Full plate Thursday and with Healthy living link Party, and sharing with Credit crunch munch for November together with Fuss free flavours and Feb Food for all, and with Fiesta Friday, and with Real Food Friday , and Food and Fitness Friday, and with plant based potluck party, and with Friday Free for all,, and with Free from Farmdays, and with Extra veg together with Michelle, also with Eat your greens, and with Meatless Monday and What'd you do this weekend, and with Hearth and Soul, and with Tasty Tuesday, and with Cook Blog share, and with Way wow link party and with Funtastic Friday.