Shimla Mirch Kadhi ~ Bell Peppers in a Tangy Yogurt Sauce

I have been lazy and busy all at the same time. Wondering how one can be both of that at the same time? Ask me! :) We were in India for a good 3 weeks and had one of the most amazing times out there. It was only 3 weeks but we managed to do a lot of things, meet a lot of people and eat a lot, A LOT, of good food!  We came back last week and got back to our usual routine - it took me more than a couple of days for that, but well, thats where we are now. Loving the holiday feel around me and waiting for some snow. 

Here is something that I made on a Sunday before we left for India. This is from Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries which is sort of my bible for Indian cooking. I made a mushroom-peas curry and a spinach-shallots curry along with some rice for a rainy Sunday lunch. Take my word for it, make more of this and store it in the refrigerator for you will want to eat more of it later too - seriously, its THAT good! Don't believe me? Make it for yourself and see.



Kadhi is a preparation with yogurt and chickpea flour as the base. You can add chickpea flour fritters/dumplings to it which is the more common variety, called Kadhi Pakoda or you can also add vegetables like in this recipe.

Shimla Mirch Kadhi ~ Bell Peppers in a Tany Yogurt Sauce
Adapted from 660 Curries

Yogurt - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Besan / Chickpea Flour - 2 tbsp
Salt, to taste
Thai green chillies - 2
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Red Chilli / Cayenne powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Roasted Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Roasted Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Green Bell Pepper, deseeded and chopped - 1
Green Peas ( I use frozen, most of the time) - 1/2 cup
Cilantro, chopped - 2 tbsp
Canola/vegetable oil - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Mix the yogurt with the water, add the chickpea flour to it and mix well so that no lumps are formed. Crush the ginger and green chillies using a mortar and pestle and add that to the yogurt mix. Add salt, cilantro, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder to it and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds to it. Once they splutter, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add the bell pepper and stir-fry for a few minutes. Add the green peas to it as well. Now mix in the yogurt mix and lower the heat. Do not let the mixture boil or else the yogurt will separate. Keep it on the stove till the raw smell of chickpea flour disappears.

Serve with rotis/chapathis or rice!