Roasted Red Bell Pepper Chutney

A wonderful combination of tangy taste and crunchy texture, sweet bell peppers are the ornaments of the vegetable world with their beautifully shaped glossy exterior that comes in a wide array of vivid colors. Roasting these peppers enhances the flavor.

I came across this recipe ‘Roasted Red Bell Pepper Chutney’ in the newspaper the other day. I tried it and I really loved it, so sharing this recipe here. This recipe has multiple uses:

·        Serve with roti, rice, dosa or idlis.

·        Use as a secret spread for a cheese sandwich.

·        Serve as a dip for nachos or fries.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 miuntes

Serves: 4-5 people

Recipe Courtesy: Susheela Srinivas

Ingredients	Quantity
Red Bell Pepper	1 large
Green Chilies	1 or 2
Red Chilies(Kashmiri)	1 or 2
Sesame Seeds	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	1/4 tsp
Cumin (Jeera) powder	1/2 tsp
Lemon juice	1 tsp
Oil	1 ½ tsp
Tamarind Paste	1tsp
Coriander springs	5-10
Salt	to taste
Water	to grind
For Tempering:
Oil	1 ½ tbsp
Mustard seeds	¼ tsp
Split Bengal gram(Chana Dal)	¼ tsp
Curry leaves	few

Method:

Wash Bell pepper thoroughly, wipe dry and cut into cubes without seeds.

Dry roast sesame seeds in a pan till they are slightly golden. Remove and keep aside.

Heat ½ tsp oil in the pan and fry the green chilies and red chilies for 2-3 minutes. 

Remove and keep aside to cool.

Heat 1 tsp oil in the same pan and fry the bell pepper for 3-4 minutes. Keep aside till it cools down.

In a blender jar add sesame seeds, coriander leaves, tamarind paste, salt, turmeric powder, chilies, cumin powder and 2 tbsp water, grind to a fine paste.

Now add bell peppers and grind coarsely. You can peel the bell peppers if you like. Add water if needed. This chutney tastes good when it is chunky.

Remove in a bowl.

Tempering:

In a small wok heat oil, add mustard seeds and split bengal gram (chana dal) when mustard starts spluttering add curry leaves and switch of the heat. Once the spluttering stops, add the tempering to chutney.

Points to remember:

• Instead of frying the bell pepper in the pan with oil you can also roast the whole pepper directly on the gas. Apply some oil to the surface of pepper prick a few times with a fork and roast them on the gas till you see blisters on the peels. Once cooled peels and grind.
• Place pepper halves, cut sides down, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake in a 220°C pre-heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand about 15 minutes or until cool. Use a sharp knife to loosen edges of the skins; gently pull off the skins in strips and discard.