In my quest to develop new recipes, I have been toying with the idea for some time of stuffing peppers with a keema mix and baking them in the oven. So today I started work on this. They came out absolutely wonderful, the peppers were tender and the keema mix was not overdone inside. I would like to try these on the BBQ when the weather gets warmer for an even deeper taste with that smokey background.
Ingredients
1 pack of Lamb Mince (approx 400g)
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 green finger chillies (optional)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 inch root ginger, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
Half a teaspoon garam masala (I used Natco)
1 tablespoon tomato paste (mixed with 4 tbsp hot water)
1 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon tandoori masala (I used Natco)
Half a teaspoon ground fennel or 1 star anise in with the onions at the beginning (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander
3 fresh peppers (Capsicums)
Red Food Colouring
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 170 C.
Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the onion until soft and translucent along with the star anise.
Meanwhile in a dry pan heat the cumin seeds until they give off an aroma, and remove from the heat.
Add the chillies and ginger to the onions and fry for 1 minute, then add the garlic and continue to fry for 2-3 minutes.
Remove the star anise.
Add the cumin seeds, spices and red food colouring if using and fry for about 1 minute, then add the diluted tomato paste and mix together.
Add the minced lamb and mix with the onion/spice mixture.
Brown the mince only but do not cook it or it will become dry in the final dish.
Cut the tops off the peppers and scoop out the seedy bit inside, but keep the tops.
Rub the outside of the pepper with a little oil then fill the peppers with the Keema mix. Lay the top of the peppers back on top of the Keema mixture, (this stops the meat from burning and going dry when in the oven.
Bake in the oven for around 45 minutes or until the peppers are tender.
I served it simply with some plain boiled rice and a portion of CA's Tarka Dhal

Enjoy......



