Red Capsicum (Bell Pepper) Pachadi
If this is the first time you are visiting my page, then you should know one thing, we LOVE pickles. We in the sense my entire family. My parents, my in-laws, my husband, my sister and anyone who has ever eaten Andhra pachadulu becomes an instant fan. Our meal isn’t complete without a side of pachadi and a huge spoon of ghee. No wonder I’m so fat now 🤣 just thinking about how I ate, swells my tummy up. But the thing is that I was never sick while I was there eating all that junk. I miss my mom and mother in laws pachadulu they made them everyday even if it was just a cup for us. I miss getting pampered more I guess. I rarely make pachadi here and even when I do I usually give it off to my little sister, and since now she’s not here now, I have the saddest feeling of not being able to share with anyone. She was a fan of my pachadi and would happily take it if I offered. Now I miss feeding her.
I started experimenting with different vegetables to make pachadi because it got boring soon. I mean you have tomato, Brinjal, tomato brinjal, and basically that’s it. Mango isn’t too sour so the pachadi won’t turn out great. Beerakaya or Ridge Gourd is a lot of times bitter and I hate throwing them away, so I stopped buying them. So I’ve been doing bhindi pachadi which my mother in law makes amazing which turns out good most of the times, then I have been doing green apple one, which has been gobbled up fast by the family. And now I’m using bell peppers. They are extremely healthy, and we love them. I have tried to grow them, but it’s been too hot here and the flowers have been drying off. Also the freaking spiders are eating them. I have sprayed some neem oil, dish soap and peppermint oil, hopefully this does the trip. This recipe isn’t too hard to make and goes well with Idli, dosa, rice and also Roti.
Ingredients
Red Bell Pepper (Capsicum) – 2 big
Tomato – 1 medium
Onion – 1 small
Salt – As needed (1 tablespoon)
Turmeric – 1/4 teaspoon
Tamarind – 4-5 pieces
Urad Dal – 2 rablespoons
Mustard seeds – 1 tablespoon
Fenugreek Seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida – 1/4 teaspoon
Dried Red Chilies – 10 (at least)
Oil – 5 tablespoons
How To Make
Step 1: In a pan, add half the oil. Once hot, add urad dal, as they start to change color, add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. As the mustard seeds start to splutter add cumin seeds and asafoetida.
Step 2: Add the dried red chilies and fry them until they are crisp. Add all of them to a blender jar, and let them cool down.
Step 3: In the same pan, add the remaining oil, and add chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, and chopped red bell peppers.
Step 4: After 2 minutes add tamarind, and mix it well. Keep the lid back on.
Step 5: Mix them well, add salt and turmeric. Put a lid on and let it steam a little.
Step 6: The tomatoes will become all mushy and the bell pepper becomes tender. Turn off the stove and wait for it to cool down. Make sure all the water that comes out from the veggies is evaporated.
Step 7: Blend the red chilies a little, and then add the cooled down peppers. Pulse it until it comes together as a chutney.
Step 8: Serve it with rice, dosa or idli. You can store it in the fridge for up to a week.
Tips:
1. Adding the onion and tomato is optional. You can skip adding that and add another bell pepper instead.
2. You can add orange or yellow with the red, it doesn’t change the color too much but it will be on the lighter side.
3. If you only have green capsicum or green bell peppers, use 1 of it and 4-5 tomatoes. That will give the redness too, but the taste changes.
