Bheja Bhaji
07 Jun, 2011. 35 Comments. Leave a comment
Spicy, sweet and sour Capsicum Bhaji
My social life has taken a battering. No surprise there. But when an invite appeared for a big 4-0 knees up, I could hardly pass it up.
There I was in my new 70s wooden platforms. Drinking Pimms on a boat. Dancing to Electronica. Smiling as I waited for a taxi in biting wind. Thrilled as I leapt into bed well past midnight.
And then the kids woke up at 5:30am.
The man and I valiantly took it in turns to nurse sore heads and play doting parents. As I lay starving stretched out on the once-pale cream rug being prodded with lego pieces, I remembered the glimmer of hope in the fridge.
Introducing my new secret weapon: K ji. Nanny extraordinaire. Superlative cook. This is the roti making, cumin seed/mustard seed loving soul I have been waiting for my whole life. (The kids love her too)
On Friday, I trialled her very own Capsicum Bhaji recipe – spicy bell peppers sauteed with gram flour, with just a hint of sweet and sour. It took 20 minutes to make. She expertly rolled the rotis and together we stashed the results into the fridge.
The keyword here being result! I slowly felt life return as I shoved warm rotis stuffed with K ji’s special into my parched mouth. A much needed lie-in or two and I’ll be ready for another big night. Maybe.
PS = Bheja means brain, and Bhaji means fry. Thank you Sandeepa, for inspiring this post’s title!
Feeds 4:
- 3 large capsicums (bell peppers)
- 2 medium onions
- 50gm gram flour
- Quarter tsp asafoetida
- Half tsp cumin seeds
- Half tsp mustard seeds
- 1 heaped tsp chilli powder
- 2 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp freshly squuezed lemon juice
- Half cup oil
- Salt to taste
Slice the peppers and onions into cubes and set aside. In a non stick pan, dry roast the gram flour for about five minutes.
In another non stick pan, bring the oil to heat on high. When it’s hot, add the asafoetida and seeds. As they sizzle up, add the onions, peppers and chilli powder. Now stir the whole lot, mixing the spices and cookign the onions and peppers.
When they have softened, mix in the roasted gram flour, the lemon juice, sugar and salt. A teaspoon of salt should do the trick. Mix the whole lot together until the gram flour is golden throughout. The spoon onto a plate and eat with warm rotis or toasted pitta bread.
One last tip – this rocks even more the next day, so make extra and savour!
Looks delicious, will try it!
I love this capsicum bhaji with besan, had made a version long back. Needs some oil but then what is life without it.
, these are the ladies we all need. Mine has been there for almost 3 years now and going the route of “purana employee so will just relax” mode.
Good to know you found your soul mate
Delish looks like one of the Italian antipasto dishes. How can one go wrong with salty, sweet, spicy and sour.
Will try reproducing it at home.
Cheers!
Heguiberto
like all bongs, i like every food to have a little bit of tweetness to it. so this is just perfect.
okay so that was sweetness
What a nice and simple recipe! Am going to try it tomorrow. [have quite a few capsicums counting their last hours in the fridge]…
thanks,
D
This looks delicious! I have cooked capsicum with besan but not with sugar! I love just a hint of sweetness in curries and sabjis
will make this for dinner tomorrow!!
Hi,
Use to make this dish myself too.Really nice dish but wat inspired me to read the whole blog was the word
bheja. Thank god you shared the meaning in the end.
i made it for lunch dabba this morning.. awesome stuff, any idea what other sabzis we could do with this? this sweet and sour besan thing
Looking delicious… definately going to try by tomarrow for my husband… and will update his comments also… thanks alot…. god bless yo
Cool! This same dish is a regular part of my rotation in the kitchen except I have never made it with lemon. Thanks for the new tip. I will trying this version. (And much gratitude to your secret weapon.)
Hi, I’m a HUGE fan of your book – it is such a straight-forward text and has really helped me to understand the basics of Indian cooking. I love it! As I have a friend going to India this summer I was hoping that they might be able to source a copy of the book you described as beloved by aunties and new wives for me – the N.I.A.W. cookbook – how can I get my hands on a copy? I made your rajma this week and am still dreaming of it!
hi malika…i came across you book while browsing in WH smith the other day and loved it..i was out of time, so could only flip through it..but from what i saw it was amazing..
i love how simple and easy the recipes are…just wanted to drop in and tell you so:)
I’m glad to see you back in action… Just in time for summer! This looks delicious!
My family loved it. Something different from the usual stuff.
wow!
Fast… Simple… Quick and Easy…
Traditional Indian food/cooking, the way it should be!
Keep up the work.
Oh the flavours and combinations are fabulous !!!
thank you for sharing the recipe i tried this and loved it
Looks delicious, I should try it for my partner. He will propose me!
Tried it a couple of times… savior when I need quick meals!
Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I’ll definitely return.
Hi, I am really impressed by your blog, just happen to find it through google….liked the names given to each recipe, very creative..will surely try your bheja bhaji and follow your blog too!!
Hi..very creative blog, too impressed by it…will surely try few of your recipes.
Looks yummy…Definitely gonna try this.:)
this recipe is brilliant. i never expected my hubby to eat capsicum and bell peppers. but when i made this he really enjoyed eating the bell peppers. thank you.
this recipe is super..
I saw Bheja Fry and was looking for a brain recipe.
Ill try this veg version of Bheja Fry
Blog looks excellent as well as dish… where is the recipe? Thanks, Gary
Sorry, I see its fantastic. This is a great flavor combo. Gary
Hi Mallika! this is the first time i came across this web site….loved every word written by you…..honestly i think i am a gr8 cook…but your recipes are really coool….and the way you write is amazing!
Now I know how to make this I cant wait to get home tonight and make this, Thank you so much for sharing this recipe for bheja bhaji.
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Oh my! This is to die for! Thank you!
It looks so easy and yummy…. the name is also too unique used by you. Thanks for sharing and keep blogging.
Nice unique recipe!!! Let me have my try at this week end!!!