Capsicum Rice

Capsicum Rice

Author: Rumki Paul
Course: Main
Cuisine: South Indian
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Servings: 3-4 Persons

Capsicum Rice is a smart vegan rice recipe which is a brilliant combination of taste and health. It is a one pot rice recipe which does not require any other companion to fulfil the meal. Capsicum Rice is also known as Capsicum pulao and Capsicum Masala Rice. It is the amalgamation of cooked rice with Capsicum and Onions in homemade flavoured spice mix. It gets prepared very quickly without any hassle and can be a great dinner option for busy weekdays or for sudden guests.

Now a days, Vegan rice recipes are very trendy and south India is one of the best places where varieties of rice recipe vegan are prepared every day in hundreds of restaurants. Lemon Rice, Tamarind Rice, Tomato Rice, Capsicum Rice, Brinjal Rice, Puliyogare, Pongal, Bisi Bele Bath are the few immensely popular names of vegan rice recipe.

This rice recipe with vegetables can be a very healthy addition to our diet. Capsicum Rice is a very light dish which is not only suitable for kids but for people of all age groups. It does not contain any ingredients of high calorie substance and does not require any sides too. It gets prepared with freshly grind homemade masala and you can add the amount of masala according to your preference. If you are cooking this dish specially for kids, then I would recommend that you to either skip or add lesser quantity of chillies into the masala.

I have a strong connection with the recipe Capsicum Rice or Capsicum pulao. When I was working in Bengaluru, Capsicum Masala Rice was one of the most prepared dishes for office lunch. I was not aware of the delectable rice recipe until one of my office colleagues took me to a vegetarian south Indian restaurant. It was there that I have saw the different ranges of rice dishes with incredible taste and flavour. Since then I have fallen for the vegan rice recipes and Capsicum rice is one of them.

This vegan rice recipe has the essence of South and my husband has never been to south India yet. When I told him about the rice recipe, he was completely surprised and insisted me to prepare it. When I was preparing the masala for the rice, he got very temped with the flavour. When I served him after preparing the dish, he just loved the rice and devoured a large portion of it. Now Capsicum Rice has become our family favourite lunch box meal.

Capsicum Rice with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section. If you follow the steps carefully then you will get the exact fluffy flavoured Capsicum Rice.

Capsicum Rice is a very simple and easy recipe. It requires very common and limited ingredients of our pantry to get prepared. The best part of the recipe is that it can get prepared with leftover rice too other than freshly cooked rice. In fact, even I have used leftover rice to prepare this dish. It results even better.

Recipe for leftover rice has become a global need in today’s world because people have become much more aware about wastage of food. Capsicum rice can be a salivating way to utilise leftover rice.

Health benefits of Bell peppers or Capsicum

How to make Capsicum Rice?

For fluffy Capsicum Rice, it is very important to use moisture free cold or normal temperature rice for the recipe. I have used refrigerated leftover rice for the recipe. You can use freshly cooked rice too, but you need to spread the rice on plates to bring them at room temperature.

The most crucial part of the vegan rice recipe is to prepare the masala of the rice for perfect flavouring. In this preparation, I have used whole spices like Cumin seeds, Coriander seeds, Peppercorns, Mustard seeds, dry red Chilli, Peanuts, Urad dal and Chana dal. First, I have dry roasted all the ingredients in medium low flame for some time until a soothing aroma started to come up of the spices. I have allowed the mixture to rest to become cool. Then I have ground them to a fine powder. Many people prefer to grind the masala coarsely but personally, I always recommend everyone to make a fine powder of the spices. Other than this spice mixture, I have used little bit of Garam Masala powder in this preparation for better flavouring.

For the Capsicum Rice, I have tempered Curry leaves with Mustard seeds in oil which gives an extraordinary flavour to the dish. Then I have fried the chopped Onions in it. I have used green, red and yellow Capsicums for the recipe which gives nice colour to the dish. But you can also prefer to use only green capsicum for the dish too.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons roasted Peanuts, skin off
• 1 tablespoon Urad Dal
• 1 tablespoon Chana Dal
• 1 Dry red Chilli
• 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon Coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• ¼ teaspoon Black peppercorn

• 3 cups Cooked Basmati Rice
• 1 large Onion, finely chopped
• 1 Cup red, yellow, green Capsicum, thinly sliced
• 3-4 tablespoons Cilantro, chopped
• ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 10-12 Curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Red Chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon Garam Masala powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons oil, for cooking

1. First put a pan on flame and let it become dry.
2. Add roasted Peanuts, Urad dal, Chana dal, Coriander seeds, Cumin seeds, Mustard seeds, Black Peppercorn, dry red Chilli into the pan.
   

3. Dry roast them in medium low flame for 3-4 minutes until the Urad dal becomes pink and the spices start releasing a nice aroma.
   

4. Transfer the spices on a plate and allow it to rest until it cools down.
   

5. Transfer the masala in the jar of a grinder and grind them till fine dust. Keep the spice mixture aside.
   
   

6. On the other hand, add oil into a pan.
   Tip: You can use Ghee (Clarified Butter) instead of oil for better aroma.
   
7. Once the oil is hot, add Mustard seeds, Curry leaves and let them crackle.
   

8. Put the flame in low and add chopped Onions into the pan.
   

9. Fry them until they in medium flame become translucent.
10. Add Salt, Turmeric powder, red Chilli powder into the pan and mix it well.
    

11. Cook it in low flame for another minute.
12. Add the Capsicum slices into the pan and give a nice stir.
    

13. Cook them in medium high flame for 2-3 minutes. Stir in between.
14. Add the ground masala (Step 5) into the pan and give a nice stir.
    

15. Add Garam Masala powder and give a nice mix.
    

16. Cook the masala in lowest flame for a minute.
17. Sprinkle the cooked rice into the pan in small portions and mix it evenly until the rice gets coated with the masala. Mix the rice delicately or else the rice grain may break.
    

18. Add chopped Cilantro and mix it nicely.
    
    

19. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.