This capsicum curry is a delicious Hyderabadi style masala curry made with capsicum or bell peppers. Serve this rich gravy with roti, naan, paratha or biryani or pulao.
Rinse and slice the capsicums. Make medium width slices. Not too thin or thick. Remove the seeds also. You can even cut the capsicum in small squares.
Chop the onions, ginger and garlic and tomatoes.
Preparing curry paste
In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the peanuts, white sesame seeds, coriander seeds and poppy seeds (optional).
On a low heat fry these nuts and seeds for 3 to 4 minutes.
Then add the chopped ginger and garlic. Sauté for a minute.
Next add the chopped onions. Mix and stir very well.
Saute the onions till they turn translucent or a light brown. Add a pinch of salt, so that the onions cook faster.
Next add the desiccated coconut. Mix again very well.
On a low heat, continue to stir non-stop and roast for 7 to 8 minutes, till the coconut turns golden. The whole mixture should turn light golden or golden.
Let this roasted mixture become warm or cool completely. Then add the mixture in a grinder or blender jar. Also add the tightly packed seedless tamarind.
Grind or blend to a smooth fine paste adding water. Keep this masala paste aside.
Making capsicum curry
Wipe the pan in which we sautéed the nuts and seeds and add 2 tablespoon oil. Heat the oil. Lower the heat and then add mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds crackle, add fenugreek seeds, 7 to 8 curry leaves. Sauté for 5 to 6 seconds.
Then add tightly packed chopped tomatoes.
Sprinkle a pinch of salt for the tomatoes to cook faster.
Stir and saute the tomatoes till they soften and become pulpy.
Now add the sliced capsicums or bell peppers.
On a medium heat, stir and sauté the bell peppers for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Lower the heat and add the ground nuts and seeds paste.
Add turmeric powder and red chili powder. Mix very well.
Sauté for about 2 minutes on a low heat. Do stir often as the paste can stick to the pan.
Cooking capsicum curry
Add 1 to 1.25 cups water. Combine and mix thoroughly.
Add the powdered jaggery and salt as per taste. Then add garam masala powder. Swap raw sugar or brown sugar with jaggery if you do not have jaggery.
Stir and simmer the curry on a low to medium heat for about 15 minutes or till the capsicum slices are cooked. You can keep the capsicum slightly crunchy if you want.
When you see oil specks on top, the capsicum gravy is done. Do stir at intervals when the gravy is getting simmered.
Serve capsicum masala curry hot with paratha, roti, naan, rice, pulao or biryani. If you prefer you can garnish the capsicum curry with some coriander leaves.
Notes
You can use any capsicum or bell pepper- green, orange, yellow or red. Or use two colored or all three together. Including three to four varieties of capsicum make the curry more flavorful and colorful.
The consistency of the gravy is medium, but as you prefer make it slightly thin or thick by adjusting the amount of water.
If you do not have tamarind, use lemon juice. Add ½ teaspoon lemon juice or as needed once the curry is cooked. If you have tamarind paste, add ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon of it.
In place of capsicum, you can make this curry with eggplants, potatoes, cauliflower and okra. For okra sauté them first and then add towards the end once the curry is cooked through and you see oil floating on top of it.
Omit poppy seeds if you do not have them.
This recipe cannot be scaled due to its complexity. If you want to make a larger or a smaller batch, try eyeballing the ingredients as you go on working on the recipe.