Indian stuffed peppers or bharwan shimla mirch are green bell peppers stuffed with a spicy potato mixture and then slow cooked in a pan. These stuffed peppers (also called stuffed capsicum) make a tasty side with rotis or parathas and can also be served as a snack or starter if using small bell peppers.
We usually make bharwan shimla mirchi with green capsicums but you can also make them with red and yellow capsicums. I prefer using small bell peppers to make this recipe as it is easier to eat them if they are small. Also if the peppers are very big, there is a lot of filling and each bite has more filling than capsicum.
In India, when we think of vegetarian stuffing, 9 out of 10 times, we think of potatoes. We love our aloo samosas, and aloo parathas and bread rolls stuffed with potato mixture :-). In this recipe, I use the traditional potato filling, but the filling can actually be anything you can imagine. You can stuff the peppers with steamed mix vegetables, mince meat, spicy soya granule mixture for a meatless variation of mince meat stuffed pepper or even leftover stir-fry rice or millet mixture.
In another stuffed peppers recipes, I use the Jãlapeno like Indian peppers and stuff them with a spicy besan/gram flour filling. That filling is perfect for vegetables where the amount of stuffing is less like for making stuffed eggplants, stuffed tinde or stuffed okra.
Stuffed peppers look beautiful as well and won’t they make such a lovely addition to any dinner party menu? If you like the recipe, please do take a moment to rate it below and/or leave a comment. It will really encourage me.
Indian Stuffed Peppers - Bharwan shimla mirchi
Ingredients (1cup = 240ml; 1tbsp = 15ml; 1tsp = 5ml)
- 6 small green bell peppers/capsicum
- 3 medium potatoes boiled
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 1 green chilli , finely chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 pinch of asafoetida
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp amchoor (dry mango powder)
- Salt , to taste
- 2 tbsp oil
Instructions
- Boil potatoes until they are tender. After the potatoes have cooled down, peel and cut into very small pieces.
- Prepare the peppers by cutting off the tops and deseeding. Keep aside. Don’t discard the tops.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok/kadhai. Add cumin seeds and asafoetida. When the seeds start to sputter, add the chopped green chillies and onions.
- Sauté for 4-5 mins till the onions turn soft. Add coriander powder, cumin powder, and turmeric powder. Mix well.
- Add the boiled potatoes and salt. Toss to coat the potatoes in the spices. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let the filling cool down. Once the filling has cooled down, stuff the peppers with this spicy potato mixture.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a shallow frying pan. Place the stuffed peppers in the pan. Cover and cook on very low flame.
- You will need to check on the peppers every 4-5 minutes and turn the sides so that all sides are evenly cooked.
- When the peppers have evenly browned and “wrinkled”, they are ready. I like the peppers to be soft and still have a bite which goes great with the soft potato filling.
- Serve hot as a side with rotis or as a snack. You can cut them in half for ease of eating and sharing or put the tops back and serve them whole.
Notes
- A common variation of the filling for the Indian stuffed peppers or bhawan mirch is using a mix of potatoes and paneer (cottage cheese). To add cottage cheese, prepare the potato filling as in the recipe and then add mix in the grated paneer when the filling has cooled down.
- Instead of pan frying, you can also bake the stuffed peppers. Rub some oil on the outside of each of the stuffed capsicum and bake it for 10-15 minutes in a 200ºC preheated oven till the peppers start to brown.
It is amazing, how stuffed peppers are cooked in almost every cuisine. The filling and the cooking technique varies with the cuisine. In America, I once had vegetarian stuffed peppers where the filling was made of corn, carrot and peas. The peppers were topped with lots of grated cheese and then baked. In Morocco, we once had dolma, where the peppers are stuffed with spicy mince meat.
Stuffed peppers are truly a versatile dish! Do you have a recipe for stuffed peppers that you think is really awesome? I would love to learn it and I hope you like my way of making stuffed capsicums.
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Would love to start a conversation, share recipes, cooking experiences and food stories from India and around the world.
The spices you use in this sound absolutely fabulous… Im definitely going to try this with our next grill night!
Thanks Michele!
Indian spices really perk up any recipe! 🙂 Do let me know how it goes when you try it!
Thanks for the rating!
lots of love,
ashima
I love stuffed peppers. I think my mom was called the queen of stuffed veggies because she use to love making stuffed veggies with almost anything she could think of. This looks so good.
Oooh!! What all veggies did she use for her stuffed veggies? I have tried with peppers, eggplant, zucchini, chillies and okra. Would love to learn more recipes for stuffed veggies.. they are just such an amazing way of combining different foods.
Thanks so much for sharing and you rating!
lots of love,
ashima
I love everything about these stuffed peppers! What a great combination of spices and with potatoes and peppers! Yum! I find it a little hard to find little peppers like that here. But I’ll keep my eye out for some. I bet this filling is great with many different kinds of peppers too.
Hey Michelle,
This filling is great for almost anything stuffed you want.. you can also simply put it between two slices of bread for a delicious sandwich!
you can make the recipe with large bell peppers too. I prefer small peppers for the ease of eating.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and rating the recipe!
lots of love,
ashima
What a great flavor the potato stuffing adds to the bell peppers!
This is a wonderful side dish and one I would make to change my go to recipe for tuna stuffed peppers.
Hey Nicoletta,
This will make a great vegetarian alternative to your tuna stuffed peppers! And the potato stuffing is quite versatile and can be used as a stuffing in just about any dish.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!
lots of love,
ashima
What a great recipe! The peppers look perfectly cooked, almost like you blanched them first.
Hello Lois!
No, they are not blanched. The trick is to cook them on a very low flame and keep turning them to ensure even cooking. I like the pepper to retain some of their crispiness and I feel blanching would make them very soft. Have you tried blanching the peppers for making stuffed peppers? Would love to know how they turn out.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and rating the recipe!
lots of love,
ashima
The flavor combo in these peppers sounds really interesting! I don’t think I’ve seen amchoor before – do you need to get it online or at a specialty store?
Hi Kathryn,
Amchoor (also called dry mango powder) is an Indian spice used to add some sourness to a recipe. You can easily find it in Indian stores or even stress that carry some international groceries. It is also available online at amazon: http://amzn.to/2A1HQEm
If you can’t find amchoor, you can also use tamarind or some lemon juice as a substitute.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!
lots of love,
ashima
I’ve never had these before but I’m definitely intrigued to give them a try!
Hey Shannon!
You really should! They will make a great side to any meal 🙂 Let me know if you have questions about any of the ingredients or steps.
lots of love,
ashima
Spent 2 weeks backpacking in India eating only vegetarian food and loved every bit of it! All the different potato dishes were simply amazing and this one looks no different!
Hey Vicky,
2 weeks backpacking in India! Wow 🙂 Where all did you go? I just came back from a 2 month travel in India and even though India is home, travelling in India always excites me.. there is so much to explore and learn.
If you were eating only vegetarian, I am sure you had tons f potato dishes. I do hope you tried our samosas and parathas and dals!
Thanks so much for sharing and also rating the recipe!
lots of love,
ashima
I love a good stuffed pepper! The potato filling sounds fantastic, and this must be so aromatic. I’d love to serve these as a side dish.
Hey Amanda,
I am just amazed how stuffed peppers feature in almost every country’s cuisine! These Indian potato filled peppers are really delicious and like you said, very aromatic because of the spices.
I really hope you try them out.
Thanks so much for dropping by and sharing your thoughts!
lots of love,
ashima
What a great idea! I love samosas and this looks just as delicious!
Thanks Kate!
I love samosa too.. and this potato filling for the stuffed peppers g great as samosa filling as well!
Thanks for sharing,
lots of love,
ashima
Ooh yum these sound delicious! I love stuffed peppers but haven’t tried stuffing them with potatoes and spices before – they sound so good!
Hey Donna,
These are just yum. How do you make your stuffed peppers? Isn’t it amazing how stuffed peppers are cooked in so many different ways across different cultures. Would love to learn your recipe and I hoe you do try out these Indian style peppers.
Thanks for sharing and rating the recipe!
lots of love,
ashima
This is very tasty.
Thanks Kawsar!