Meaty nutty pepper boats

It was a successful cooking weekend. I call it successful not only when the taste is good, but when it is exactly same to what I wished and imagined it to be before cooking. And this pepper boats were exactly that. The cheesy and spicy meat was complemented with the crunchiness of the nuts and the raisins gave a hint of sweetness to the bites from time to time. I loved the balance of spicy, crunchy cheesy and sweet taste in the juicy peppers.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:
(Serves 4)

4 red bell peppers
300g minced meat
Paneer from a liter of milk (How to make paneer)
1 cup of unsalted peanuts
1 handful of raisins
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 big tomatoes
1 small potato
1cup grated cheese
Thyme
Rosemary
Cayenne pepper
Salt
Oil

METHOD:

1. Set the oven to preheat at 200°C.
2. Chop the onion, garlic, and tomatoes.
3. Grate the potato.
4. Grind the nuts very coarsely and chop the raisins
5. In a wok, heat oil and add the onion garlic.
6. When it starts turning golden, add the minced meat.
7. Cook on medium heat until the meat changes color and the water dries up.
8. Now add into it the chopped tomatoes, grated potato, and crumbled paneer.
9. Season with thyme, rosemary, cayenne pepper, and salt.
10. Cook on medium heat for 6-7mins.
11. Add the grinded nuts and chopped raisins and cook for another couple of minutes before removing from heat.
12. While you are preparing the filling, cut the bell peppers in halves, and deseed them.
13. Sprinkle a bit of salt and brush their outer surface with oil.
14. When the filling is cold, stuff the pepper boats with the filling.
15. Sprinkle cheese on top.
16. Bake uncovered for 30mins with the baking tray in the middle rack.

Paneer pepper bhurji

I invited Blaž to my place for a simple dinner of vegetable pulao. I had got all the vegetables beforehand but messed up with something. Therefore, that day on way home I decided to buy chicken and make chicken pulao instead. However, luck was not in favor of pulao that day. The small nearby shop had its meat section closed and did not have any good vegetables. It was a bad situation. The dinner was supposed to be simplest, but I had nothing to cook even for the simplest dinner! With only one big bell pepper at home, I was supposed to cook a dinner for two! I was annoyed, and searching for ideas. And then, I remembered how simple it is to make paneer. My problem was solved. Paneer pepper bhurji was on the menu with rice; and it was liked. The crunchiness of pepper and freshness of paneer makes it a quick and tasty dish.

INGREDIENTS:

225g paneer (from one lit. milk)
1 big red bell pepper
1 small onion
1sp whole cumin (Indian)
1/2sp chili powder
Oil
Salt
Sugar
Ground pepper

METHOD:

1. Make paneer from 1 lit of milk (how to make paneer), crush it and set aside.
2. Finely chop the onion and cut the pepper in cubes.
3. Heat oil in a pan.
4. When oil is heated, add the whole cumin and let it crackle.
5. Add the pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes.
6. Add the fresh crushed paneer.
7. Season with chili, salt, a pinch of sugar and pepper.
8. Cook on medium heat until the pepper is crunchy but not soft, and the paneer is fried.
9. Serve with steaming rice or hot roti.