Bharwan Shimla Mirch

the stuffed peppers of the North Indian table: whole capsicums packed with spiced mashed potato, amchur, and roasted cumin, then pan-cooked until the skins blister and collapse

Origin: India

From the journey of Bell Pepper.

In Hindi the sweet pepper is shimla mirch, the 'Shimla chilli', and the name is a small fossil of the British Raj: the non-pungent capsicum was raised in the cool Himalayan hill stations around Shimla, the summer capital, where the temperate climate suited it as the plains did not, and from those gardens it took the name it still carries across northern India. The word carries the whole oddity of the thing, for it calls a mild vegetable a chilli, which is botanically exact and gastronomically misleading, and North Indian cooks have always treated it accordingly: not as a source of heat but as a vegetable with a green, faintly bitter bite to be tamed. Bharwan shimla mirch, stuffed capsicum, is its homeliest and best-loved form, a dish of the everyday vegetarian kitchen across the Punjab, Delhi, and the Hindi belt. Whole peppers are hollowed and packed with a filling of mashed potato sharpened with amchur, the sour dried-mango powder, and warmed with roasted cumin, turmeric, and coriander, then cooked slowly in a covered pan with a little oil until the skins blister, wrinkle, and give way. It is served with hot chapatis or parathas, and its virtue is the contrast between the soft spiced potato within and the sweet, smoky, slightly collapsed pepper around it.

Ingredients

Peppers

  • 6 whole small green capsicums (bell peppers)

Filling

  • 4 whole medium potatoes, boiled, peeled, and coarsely mashed
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp amchur (dried mango powder)
  • 0.5 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder, or to taste
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
  • 1 tsp salt, or to taste

Cooking

  • 3 tbsp mustard or neutral oil
  • 0.5 tsp carom seeds (ajwain), optional

Method

  1. Slice the tops from the capsicums and reserve them, then scoop out the seeds and white membranes with a small spoon, leaving the shells intact. Rub a little salt inside each.
  2. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a pan, crackle the cumin seeds, then add the ginger and fry for 30 seconds. Add the ground coriander, turmeric, and chilli powder and stir for a few seconds until fragrant.
  3. Tip in the mashed potato with the salt, amchur, and garam masala and stir over a low heat for 3 to 4 minutes until everything is combined and the filling smells fragrant. Take off the heat, fold in the coriander leaves, and cool a little.
  4. Pack the filling firmly into each pepper, pressing it well down, and set the reserved tops back in place.
  5. Heat the remaining oil in a wide, heavy pan with the ajwain if using. Lay the stuffed peppers in, cover, and cook over a low to medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes, turning them every few minutes, until the skins are blistered, browned in patches, and the peppers have softened and begun to collapse.

Notes

Green capsicums are traditional and their slight bitterness suits the sweet potato filling, but red or yellow peppers make a sweeter, milder dish. The filling is endlessly adaptable: crumbled paneer, boiled chickpeas, or minced lamb can replace part or all of the potato, and many households add a spoonful of gram flour (besan), toasted first, to bind it and add nuttiness. Some cooks finish the peppers under a grill for a few minutes to char the skins further.

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