Capsicum Rice | Capsicum Bath Recipe | Navaratri Naivedyam Recipes

Its been a long time I had prepared any variety rice in my kitchen and hence this space is starving of  rice varieties for a while.My mom used to prepare various Rice varieties for our lunch boxes and you would find rice varieties at least 3-4 times a week in my lunch box.Having various rice varieties for lunch during my school,college and office days I had kind of developed an aversion for it for a certain period and it took a while for me to come out of it.And that's the reason I started packing Roti-Sabzi-Dal fare to DH for his lunch box and since he does not carry lunch box now I always look for easy lunch options for myself.Needless to say that these Rice varieties are one of the easiest options if you are planning to prepare a meal for one.

The concept of Bath(Bhat) varieties is famous in Karnataka and you find the same in many Upahara Darshinis(eating joints) across Bangalore which is usually served for a breakfast or lunch.There are various number of Bath varieties like - Vangibath, Tomato bath, Methi Batani Bath, Batani Bath, Bisi Bele Bath etc.Bath(Bhat) varieties are usually prepared in a different way with the addition of a bath masala powder or ground masala unlike the simple rice varieties.

Capsicum Bath is a very simple rice recipe prepared in a way similar to how we prepare Vangi Bath.You can prepare this rice in a jiffy if you have cooked rice ready or you can even use left over rice to prepare this.One can replace the green capsicums with the various colored bell peppers to make this rice more colorful.As this is a simple one pot meal you can pair it with a simple Onion-Tomato Raita and chips or salad and send it for a lunch box. This is a No-Onion-No-Garlic recipe and hence it even suits on festival days, try this easy rice variety for Navratri. For a complete list of recipes for Navratri check out here.

If you are looking for various Rice and Pulao varieties check out here for more recipes.

Capsicum Rice Recipe | Capsicum Masala Bath:

Serves 2

Prep time:10 mins | Cooking time:20 mins | Total time:30 mins

Cuisine: South Indian  | Category: Rice Varieties - Main Course

Ingredients:

1 cup Rice (Sona masuri or Basmati)

3-4 large Capsicums

10-12 Cashew nuts,slit into halves

3 tbsp Vangibath powder

a sprig of Curry leaves

juice of 1 small Lemon

2 Red Chillies,broken

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1/4 tsp Sugar(optional)

1 tbsp Chana dal

2 tsp Urad dal

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

Salt to taste

2-3 tbsp Oil
 

Method:

• Prepare rice in the usual way you make and cool the rice completely.For 1 cup of sona masuri rice you would need 2 1/4 cups of water and for 1 heaped cup of Basmati rice you need 2 cups of water.
• Remove the seeds from capsicum and cut it into thin 1/2" pieces.
• Heat oil in a big kadai/pan and crackle mustard seeds.
• Add chana dal,urad dal and cashew nuts and fry until the dals and nuts turn slight golden brown in color.
  Now add slit red chillies and curry leaves and fry for a minute.
• Add chopped capsicum and saute it for 2 mins.Add sugar to it as it eases the process of frying and balance the flavors in the rice later.Saute it until the capsicum pieces turn soft.
• Add salt,turmeric and mix and remove it from stove.
• Add vangibath powder to it and mix well.Add cooled rice and lemon juice and mix it nicely.Now taste the rice and adjust it by adding enough salt, vangibath powder and lemon juice.

Serve it with simple Onion-Tomato Raita and chips/salad.

Notes:

1. If you do not have vangi bath powder in hand,you can prepare instant masala like this.Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and roast 1.5 tsp of Urad dal, 1.5 tsp of Chana dal, 5-6 Red chillies, 1/2"Cinnamon, 2tbsp Coriander seeds and 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds and cool the mixture a bit and grind it to a coarse powder.
2. You can add fresh/frozen Green Peas or potatoes along with capsicum pieces.If you are using potatoes add the potatoes first and let it cook completely before you add capsicum to it.
3. You can add chopped coriander and grated fresh coconut to the rice at the end and mix.
4. Instead of Capsicums you can use colored bell peppers too in the recipe.

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