Yes, it’s just upma stuffed in green bell pepper (capsicum).  As simple as it sounds.  I saw this recipe in a tamil magazine.

Ingredients:
Any upma (semolina, vermicelli, cracked wheat)
Green Bell Pepper (depending upon the quantity of upma) 

Procedure:
1.  Wash the bell pepper and cut off the tops carefully, because you need it to close the pepper and cook.

2.  Now remove the seeds inside the pepper and those sticking to the stalk.

3.  Fill the upma inside the pepper and close it back with the top.

4.  Add some water in a frying pan and let it get hot.
5.  Now keep an idli plate inside and arrange the peppers on the plate, close the frying pan with a lid and let it cook for 8-10 minutes.

6.  Turn off the stove and let it cool completely before you cut it lengthwise and drizzle some chutney all over and serve.

My Notes:
1.  In the original recipe, the method mentioned for cooking the bell pepper was to add 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan, arrange the bell peppers in it and sprinkle some salt water on top of the peppers and to cook for 8-10 minutes.  But this did not work, the pan started to brown in the inside and the pepper was no where close to get cooked.  Then only I got this idea of steaming the pepper and it worked.  But don’t steam it too much, the pepper will become very flimsy and cutting will become a problem.

2.  Also add salt and chilies a little more than you always use for the regular upma, because the pepper does not have any flavoring.

This is my entry to:

Pooja’s VOW-JFI Bell Peppers, JFI originally started by Indira

Spicy Tasty’s Fortune Cooking Contest.

Mansi’s Monthly Mingle – Appetizers & Hors’Doeuvres.  Monthly Mingle originally started by Meeta.

Earlier this week my friend Smitha, left a comment in my blog saying that she tried the oven baked zucchini fries and it came out very well.  Couple of weeks back she also mentioned that she tried the Easy Basundi for a party and it was a hit too.  When I posted a recipe for making Easy Baklavas another friend SS prepared baklava the traditional method and sent me a picture also, telling that it was inspired by me.  Last week another visitor A also mentioned that she tried the Zucchini Dal and Zucchini fries.  Thanks a lot buddies.

I’m mentioning all this because, even though I started this blog as a hobby to pursue my passion for baking/cooking, I feel very happy when I read each and every comment and exhilirated when somebody tells me that they tried the recipes in my blog and it came out well.  So I thought why not pass this happiness to other food bloggers too.  Even prior to starting my own blog, I have visited many blogs and have kept bookmarking interesting recipes but tried only a very few.  Call it laziness or lack of time.  Since I have a food blog now, I know how happy I would be if somebody tried my recipe and complimented it.  So I want to make a conscious effort to try at least one recipe every week from other blogs and hence this ode to the food blogging community.  There are so many food blogging sites which have great recipes!!!

I know what you all are thinking, this is very similar to MBP (Monthly Blog Patrol) created by Coffee of The Spice Cafe.  Yes it is, but I want to make it more current. Since we all know that there is a shortage of rice supply in the US, I thought why not try to go on a rice strike for atleast one meal every week.  Even now in my family we eat rice only for lunch and it’s a light meal in the evenings. But again being a south indian our light meals are limited to idli, dosa, pongal, arisi (rice) uppuma and it also has rice as the main ingredient.  I do make soups and salads regularly but considering the pressing issue of increase in the price of rice I wanted to do something more.  So I thought why not try one more non-rice main dish from other food blogs once a week (more than 1 meal would be great too) and post the final picture/pictures every Sunday.  This is my own way of thanking all the food bloggers for the wonderful recipes produced in their kitchens and reproduced in their virtual kitchen.

By cooking 4 non-rice main dishes a month we will not only limit our rice consumption but we will also be experimenting various other cuisines, food grains, and increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables which is healthy as well.  More than anything we can bring a smile in the face of our blogging friends more often.  I don’t want to call this an event, instead a tradition and name it Your Recipe Rocks (YRR). 

Anybody interested in joining me to start this small tradition?

P.S: Everything said I would like to add one final note.  This is neither a competition nor compulsory. I know how tedious food blogging can get, having to cook/bake something interesting regularly and taking pictures, participating in so many food events and other stuff.  So don’t stress yourself too much.  It’s ok if you are not able to cook something new every week.  Just consider what I have written and do it whenever you find time, and post it in your blog the following Sunday.

Dee, thank you very much for your time and support.

This week I tried Cham’s Idli Rava Kichidi.  Cham had prepared this kichidi and chutney for JFI: Garlic.  Instead of using idli rava I prepared the kichidi with regular rava (semolina), crushed tomatoes instead of fresh ones and added a handful of frozen peas while the water was boiling.  The kichidi tasted very good.  I added only one 1 garlic clove in the chutney to suit our palette.  My husband loved the flavor of garlic both in the kichidi and in the chutney.  

Thanks Cham for the wonderful recipe.   Looking forward for many tasty recipes from you.  Your Recipe Rocks