Potato and Capsicum Curry

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Until 5 or 6 years ago I only had Indian food in restaurants or at friends', except for Dahl and Naan bread, that is. In the last few years I started to cook more and more Indian food (or at least, try to!) by myself, and now, with so many good Indian blogs around, I can really say that I am becoming more 'adventurous' with my use of spices.

At home we love to have Indian dinners, and the kids are starting to request them more and more often. Usually I also have rice, but sometimes I find some nice flat bread in the Indian shop. I tend to make two different curries for an informal family dinner, and one is either with panir, or with pulses, for protein.

This was our dinner table the other night, to drink we had mango lassi (recipe here), on the right palak panir (same recipe as my silverbeet panir, but this time I used spinach) and in the jar some mango chutney made by our friend Mike.

The colurful curry is Potato and Capsicum:

Peel and cube 4 large potatoes

Wash and cut into large strips 4 capsicums (one green, one yellow, one orange and one red).

In a large pot sizzle half tsp of nigella seeds with two garlic cloves (peeled).

Add half tsp of turmeric, half tsp of coriander powder, half tsp of fennel powder, and half tsp of cumin powder.

Add the potatoes and stir.

Add 1 cup of water, salt to taste, and a tbsp of tomato puree.

Cover and simmer on low until the water has been absorbed.

Add capsicums and stir.

Add one tsp of dried fenugreek leaves, and a little more water if needed.

Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Check if the potatoes are cooked, then add half tsp of garam masala and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Serve hot, with rice or flat bread.