Mirch Palak Ki Subzi (Chile-Spiked Bell Peppers)

Despite the "chile-spiked" in the title, these didn't turn out all that hot using a single pepper; even the Kidlet was ok with them. We ended up being a bit short on pepper because one of them had gone bad, so I increased the spinach quantity to compensate, but I do think I'd prefer it with the higher pepper:spinach ratio called for in the original recipe, which is what I've written up here.

I also made it with frozen spinach, which was fine, although I think it might come out better with fresh (or perhaps with kale?).

Mirch Palak Ki Subzi

660 Curries p.544

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 large red bell peppers (1lb total), stemmed, cored, and cut into 1" pieces
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1-2 fresh green Thai chiles, stemmed and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chickpea flour
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• ¾ tsp coarse salt
• ½ lb fresh spinach, rinsed

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the cumin and cook until they sizzle and turn reddish-brown and fragrant, 10-15s.
3. Add the bell peppers, garlic, and chiles and stir-fry until the peppers blister, ~5 minutes.
4. Add the chickenpea flour and turmeric and stir until the flour is lightly browned, ~1 minute.
5. Deglaze with 2 C water and the salt.
6. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Add the spinach. Return heat to medium-high and cook, uncovered, until spinach is wilted and sauce thickens, ~5 minutes.