Dolmeh Felfel: Persian Stuffed Peppers
Yield: 4
Ingredients
- 4 red capsicum
- 1 lb minced beef or lamb
- 1 + 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 + 1/2 garlic clove, minced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 13 oz can tomato sauce (set aside 2 tbsp tomato sauce for savoury mince)
- pinch chili pepper
- pinch turmeric
- 1 cup water
- pinch cinnamon
- 2 cups cooked Basmati
- bushel of fresh mint, in chiffonade form
- yogurt for serving alongside dish
Instructions
Prepare the savoury mince
- In a heavy-bottomed pan add beef (or lamb), 1 tsp salt, 1 minced garlic clove, minced onion, 2 tbsp tomato sauce, a pinch of chili pepper and turmeric, 1 cup water. Stir, cover and leave to cook on a low-medium flame for one hour. Stir/check every 20 minutes;
- When the meat looks ready, turn the heat to medium-high and stir till the water has evaporated;
Prepare the tomato base
- In a pan with a large surface area (this pan will be used later for steaming the peppers), fry on a medium flame, 1/2 clove of garlic till golden and fragrant, add the canned tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp salt and a pinch of cinnamon. Stir for 5 minutes. Leave to rest;
Prepare the Basmati
- Here is the link to the earlier post on how to prepare Basmati.
Assemble
- Once the rice has cooled, add the savoury mince and toss lightly with a fork, so as not to break the delicate Basmati grains. Add the mint chiffonade;
- Cut carefully around the bell pepper's stem to create a lid. Remove it, and slice the thick white skin underneath it. Wash the inside of the pepper, removing any seeds;
- Spoon the stuffing into the pepper and replace the lid.
Steam
- Place the capsicums upright in the pan with the tomato base, add half a cup of boiling water, cover with a lid and let the peppers steam for 25 minutes over a low- to medium-flame.
- Serve with lashings of creamy yogurt.