Aish Cooks

Having cooked Indian dishes for a nice long time now, I’ve kind of ignored trying to understand what each one of those zillion spice powders imparts to your dish – smokiness, spice, sweet, freshness, etc. It is interesting to watch western chefs use Indian spices like cumin and coriander powder every once in a while and acknowledging the many goodness and flavors that it would add to the recipe. For me, they all just go together – most of the time and almost all the time. Well, I did not want to do the same this time and wanted to keep this recipe simple and clean so most kitchens are equipped with what’s needed for the dish. I resisted the urge to throw the entire spice rack in (or as Rachel Ray jokingly says when using Indian spices – throw in everything but the kitchen sink!) and used just the one eastern spice that most western kitchens happen to hold – cumin powder – the one with the smoky exotic flavor.

This one’s got everything going for it – quick and easy to prepare, lots of eye appeal and yumminess to boot – definitely on the party menu and a sure pick for any weeknight too! D was almost going to clean up what was supposed to be the next day’s lunch – and is obviously ready to get ground chicken from the grocers every time now 🙂 Oh, and with all that protein packed in, you’d be surprised how full half a pepper can make you feel.

Stuffed Peppers with Ground Chicken

Adapted from Perdue’s Peppers Stuffed with Ground Chicken recipe

Serves: 4 – 6 | Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1. Ground chicken – 1 lb (can use any other ground meat of choice too)
2. Peppers (capsicums) – 4 large, any color
3. Onion – 1/2, chopped fine
4. Ginger – 1 tbsp, shredded
5. Garlic – 1 tbsp, minced
6. Jalepenoes – 2, de-seeded and chopped (optional)
7. Tomatoes – 2 large, puree
8. Red chilli powder or paprika – 1/2 tbsp or to taste
9. Cumin powder – 1 tsp
10. Soy sauce – 2 or 3 tbsp
11. Cooked rice – a handful, optional
12. Shredded Cheese – for toppings, to taste (I used mozzarella)
13. Salt to taste

Method:

Prepare the peppers:

1. Halve the bell peppers, de-seed them and take out any rib flesh left to have hollow pepper caps ready.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil, add some salt and drop the cut pepper halves into the boiling water (have enough water to submerge the peppers).
3. Cook for about 5 minutes until the skin of the peppers turns a little pale and they are somewhat cooked.
4. Remove from water, drain off any excess water and set aside on a kitchen towel to dry.

Prepare the stuffing:

1. Heat oil in a pan.
2. Add chopped onions, ginger and garlic along with some salt and saute until onions are fully done and golden brown.
3. Add ground chicken and jalapenos, saute until chicken is cooked and all the pink color from the meat is gone.
4. Add tomato puree, chili powder and cumin powder and cook on med-high for ~5 mins until the mixture is cooked well and oil begins to ooze from the sides of the pan. Check salt/spice and adjust to taste.
5. Add soy sauce and saute for a minute. Throw in some cooked rice if you prefer to use it at this time.
6. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Putting them together:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Divide the stuffing among the pepper halves to fill them up sufficiently.
3. Top the stuffed peppers with some shredded cheese.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and the peppers are fully cooked too.

Serve with dollops of sour cream or Greek yogurt!