Bharwa Shimla Mirch: Tried This Spicy Karnataka-Style Dish, Yet?

Stuffed capsicum, also known as Bharwa Shimla Mirch, is a tempting dish full of spices. Several bell peppers are cut and stuffed with other vegetables or masala. There are a lot of variations available for stuffing. The capsicum can be filled with potato, paneer or gram flour (besan). 

This dish belongs to Punjabi cuisine, and is preferred during the winter season, as capsicums are sold at a cheaper rate during the winter season. This recipe looks stunning and appetising, and can also be served at parties and other gatherings. 

The dish gives you the liberty of freezing and using it the next day as well. You can stuff these bell peppers and store them in the refrigerator for a day and stir fry them before serving the next day. Check out the detailed recipe for stuffed capsicum, which is filled with a flavourful paste.

Here’s the recipe for Bharwa Shimla Mirch:

Ingredients: 

For roasting and grinding:

• ½ cup dry coconut 
• 2 tbsps of peanuts 
• 1 tbsp sesame 
• 1 tbsp of coriander seeds 
• 1 red chilli pepper 
• 2 cloves total  
• 2 sticks of cinnamon 
• 3 cloves of garlic total  
• 1 onion 
• ½ tsp of turmeric powder 
• 1 tsp of salt 
• 2 tbsps of jaggery powder 
• Tamarind 
• A few coriander leaves

For the curry:

• 8 pieces of medium-sized capsicum 
• 1 onion 
• 2 tomatoes 
• 3-4 smashed garlic cloves 
• ¼ tsp salt 
• ¼ tsp red chilli powder

For tempering:

• 2 tbsps and 2 tsps of oil 
• ¼ tsp mustard seeds 
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds 
• A few curry leaves

Method:

• Take a pan, add oil and heat it. 
• Put the dry coconut and roast it on medium flame until it changes colour slightly and finally transfer it to a mixer.
• Take peanuts in a pan and roast them for a few seconds and again transfer them to the mixer.
• Now take sesame seeds in a pan, roast and transfer them to the same mixer.
• Now, add onions and repeat the above step. 
• Add oil to a pan then put coriander seeds, red chilli, cinnamon, clove, and garlic clove, roast them and add them to the mixer and finally grind coarsely.
• Now, add spices and salt to it as per your taste, grind it and leave the mixer aside in a bowl.
• Take the capsicums and remove the crown and seeds.
• Next, add 2 tbsp of prepared masala to each capsicum.
• Take a pan, put 3 tbsp oil and heat it. 
• Put cumin seeds, curry leaves, and crushed garlic cloves and saute well.
• Add onion and tomato puree to it and stir them for a while.
• Next, put the stuffed capsicum in the pan. 
• Cover and simmer them for 30 minutes and flip the capsicum, if needed. 
• Finally, the dish is ready to serve.

Instead of frying, you can also bake the stuffed capsicums at 180°C for 40 minutes. Just brush them with oil and cook in a microwave or an air fryer. Stuffed capsicum can be prepared using any colour bell pepper as per your taste. Green peppers are bitter and spicy whereas red and yellow peppers are sweeter and milder. The recipe goes best with rotis accompanied by raita.