Quick and Easy, Colorful Bell Pepper Mix !!!

Diets are really hard. First it restricts so many ingredients and then you come to know that there are very little food dishes that you can really eat if you want to follow this diet. :). And I really wanted to follow this diet I did last year. I guess this was my first diet program ever and I was really excited.

I was on a non-grain diet and non-grain means you cannot have rotis. So apart from salads, I usually had moong daal cheelas as a replacement to rotis. But moong daal cheela did not taste good with various sabjis and hence I used to prepare and mix, quick and dry vegetable saute, make my cheelas and then have meal. This sabji of different capsicums tasted really well with cheelas and it made my meals more satiating during that diet.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

Bell Pepper - I used 4 colored bell peppers (Red, Yellow, Orange, Green), diced, 1 and 1\2 cup
Onion - diced, 2 tbsp
Tomatoes - chopped, 2 tbsp
Potatoes - 1 medium sized, cooked in microwave for 2-3 minutes, peeled and diced
Chopped fresh Coriander\Cilantro - 1 tbsp.
Cumin and Mustard  - Each 1 tsp seeds for tempering
Garam Masala - 2 tsp
Red Chili powder - 1 tsp or as per taste

Sugar - Pinch to taste (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil - 3 tsp

Method:

1. Mix and microwave chopped capsicum for 3-5 minutes, to semi-cook it.. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, When they splutter add cumin seeds. Now add chopped onions. Saute for a minute or two.

2. Now add the capsicum, potato, tomato and mix. Add salt, garam masala, red chili powder, sugar and mix again.Cook untill capsicums are soft but not soggy.

3. Adjust masalas and top with chopped coriander. Serve hot with plain Roti or plain Paratha.

Tips:

• Make this sabji right before you are going to have your meal. 
• It will only taste better when you have at least 3 different kinds of bell peppers. The colors also add to its nutrition and presentation.

Running out of options for breakfast - try this, "Sevai Upma" (Vermicelli Mix)

Sevai is a tricky item to work with. I had about 4-5 failed attempts of Sevai upma before I could make it right. This is usually a rare dish people make, at least I have not seen people make Sevai upma as frequently they do Poha or regular Upma for breakfast. This, therefore makes, a good dish for guests too. The only tricky part is how much water you put when you cook Sevai upma and the lesson I learnt is to start with small amounts or try the microwave version of cooking it.

Ingredients:

Thin Vermicelli \ Sevai - 2 cups

Chopped Onion - 1\2 cup

Frozen Peas - 1\2 cup

Green chillies - either slit or in a paste form, as per taste

Roasted Peanuts - whole or crushed

Salt per taste

Sugar - 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 3\4

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Oil - 3 tsp

Chopped Coriander

Method:

1. Put vermicelli in a microwave safe bowl. Add 1 tsp oil to it and mix it so that all sevai is greased. Microwave this for 1-2 minutes stirring every 30 seconds. Stop when you see the sevai getting red. Add 1\2 cup water to this bowl and then continue cooking. You will require 2-3 minutes for the vermicelli to be cooked. Add water if necessary. Eat a little sevai to check if its cooked.

2. Heat oil in a skillet and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add cumin seeds and curry leaved. Add chopped onion and saute till onion turns translucent. Add turmeric powder, green chilly paste\slit, peanuts (whole\crushed), salt, sugar and mix well.

3. Now add cooked vermicelli and mix again delicately, making sure everything mixes well. Adjust salt, sugar to taste. Cover for 2 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Tips:

You can also add roasted split chana daal when sauteing onion, for that extra and different flavor.
Additional veggies of your choice will add colors and nutrition.