It has been too long since our last blog post! Here is a short update of what I have been upto ... I attended a photography and food styling workshop with Helene Dujardin end of March with a few bloggers and food writers, continued my two days per week of consuming 500 calories and still firmly believe it's all for better health, Easter came and brought 3 hot cross buns, endless chocolates which I'm still struggling to get through and visited Auckland museum and the art gallery, spent 23 hours in Christchurch attending a family funeral, made plans with Miss 5 to bake a strawberry shortcake later this month and on Anzac Day a visit by an old friend! ... a lot more happened in between ... I visited our local member of Parliament to discuss issues facing Bahai's in Iran. Maman was away on a completely un-planned tiki tour of New Zealand and we crossed paths in Christchurch. She arrived home today happy and ready to look after her chooks. I am looking forward to a long weekend visit by Master 7 and Miss 5 later this month.
I made these stuffed veggies a few weeks ago for no reason other than I was given a can of Turkish stuffed vine leaves and it reminded me of stuffed capsicums, but I also wanted to learn how to make them. I realised this is quite easy and does not require a great deal of experience. If you want to give it a go you'll need to visit your Indian grocer and buy chana dal (or Lapeh in Persian shops). Chana dal looks very similar to yellow split peas but has a different texture, flavour and holds its shape once cooked.
Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Rice
1/4 cup Indian Chana Dal or Persian Lapeh
300g Ground Meat (lamb or beef)
1 Onion, chopped
3 T Dill, dried
2 T Summer Savoury / Tarragon leaves, dried
1 T Mint, dried
1 Tablespoon Tomato paste
Salt, pepper, cooking oil and turmeric
6-8 Capsicums
- Wash and soak chana dal and rice for a few hours.
- Saute onions with a little oil and turmeric.
- Add mince and stir to ensure the mince does not stick to the pan and that it browns evenly. Add herbs.
- Par-boil the rice and chana dal and add it to the meat. Stir in salt and pepper to season.
- Cut the top of each capsicum and discard the seeds.
- Fill each capsicum with the meat&rice mix to about 1cm off the top (room for rice and chana dal to cook). Place the tops back on the capsicums.
- Place the capsicums in a pot. Fill the pot with 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste.
- Cook on low heat for about 45min-1 hour until the sauce has thickened and the rice is completely cooked.
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