Bell Pepper Rice: Prettiness on a Plate!

This colorful bell pepper rice is really quick to put together, especially if you have plain boiled rice made ahead.

I have broadly followed Divine Taste’s stir fried brown rice recipe for it – I used no onion or garlic and loved the touch of almonds.

One key difference is that I went for white basmati rice instead of brown. I did try the recipe with brown rice once but I have this dark variety of brown rice with me, with which the appearance of the final dish wasn’t as appetizing. So I switched the rice – this version is really pleasing to the eye.

You Need:

[for 2-3 servings]

• White basmati rice – 1 small cup
• Green bell pepper/green capsicum – 1
• Red bell pepper/red capsicum – 1
• Salt – to taste
• Almonds – 1 tablespoon
• Ginger – 1/2-inch stick
• Coarsely ground black pepper – 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida – a pinch
• Oil – 1/2 tablespoon
• Fresh coriander leaves – for garnishing

In the picture above: raw basmati rice, almonds, ginger, green and red bell peppers.

How To Make Bell Pepper Rice:

1. Boil the rice

[Do this at least 3 hours before you plan to cook bell pepper rice.]

Wash the rice in running water till the water runs clear.

Soak the washed rice in 2 cups of fresh water at room temperature.

After 20 minutes, drain the water from the soaking rice. Put the rice in a thick-bottomed pan with lid. Add two small cups of water to the rice (that is, two parts of water for one part of rice).

Bring the pan to a boil. Simmer on low heat with lid on for about 10 minutes, or till the rice is almost cooked and the water has been absorbed. Switch off the heat and let the pan rest covered for 15 minutes.

Open the lid and fluff the rice with a fork, very gently.

Put the lid back again and let the rice cool to room temperature. Refrigerate the boiled rice till you plan to proceed to the next step.

2. Prepare the other ingredients

Peel, chop and crush the ginger.

Slice almonds into slivers.

Wash and core the bell peppers. Chop them into tiny pieces.

3. Put it all together

Heat half a tablespoon of oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, set the heat to low and add asafoetida to the pan. Immediately follow with crushed ginger, stirring all the while to prevent burning.

When the ginger starts to turn golden, add coarsely ground black pepper and almonds slivers.

Let the almonds change to a darker hue. Add the chopped bell peppers to the pan.

Cook on medium-high heat, stirring periodically.

Continue to cook for 5-6 minutes or till the bell peppers no longer feel raw. Keep the pan uncovered – this helps the bell peppers retain a fresh color.

Stir in salt and the boiled rice.

Fluff the boiled rice gently with a fork before adding it to the pan on heat. This help to prevent breakage in the delicate grains of rice while stirring the contents of the pan.

Continue to cook the rice for another 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat, tossing regularly. Adjust salt and pepper.

Garnish with a tablespoon of chopped fresh coriander leaves.

Bell pepper rice is ready to eat.

This works well as a one-pot meal. Easy to carry in the lunchbox to work too.

My meal today: bell pepper rice, mango raita, potato adzuki bean curry.

Notes:

For more quick meal ideas, try red capsicum curry, dahi aloo and keep makeahead food parts handy.

For another recipe inspired by the always lovely Divine Taste, check out gur atte ka halwa.