This simple and delicious Punjabi style aloo shimla mirch (aloo capsicum fry) is a delight to eat with roti or paratha. Serve it for lunch or dinner or pack for lunch boxes.
Potato is one of those vegetables, that is loved by everyone. Thus, I keep trying different variations at home, so that my boys don’t get bored. Some of my favorite potato recipes are – Aloo Methi, Aloo Gobi, Dum Aloo, Aloo Matar, Aloo Baingan, Aloo Bhindi, and Aloo Posto.
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About This Recipe
Aloo capsicum or aloo shimla mirch is a spicy, tangy, and savory dry sabzi, where potatoes and green bell peppers are cubed and cooked along with onion, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, and basic everyday spice powders.
Aloo capsicum is a vegan curry that gets ready in under 30 minutes, which makes it perfect for your weekday meals. It is also a great dish to be packed in lunch boxes with some hot and flaky tawa parathas.
You can skip potatoes and make this sabzi only with capsicum. For a healthy alternative, you can use sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes, but it will add a slight hint of sweetness to the sabzi.
This home style Aloo Shimla Mirch Sabzi is,
- Delicious
- Vegan
- Spicy + Tangy
- Comforting
- Easy + Quick
- Perfect for everyday meals
Ingredients
Potatoes – Wash, peel, and cube the potatoes to use in the sabzi. If you are using baby potatoes, just peel them and cut them in half to add to the sabzi. Make sure to keep the cubed potatoes soaked in water until adding them to the skillet otherwise they will turn black from oxidation.
Capsicum – This sabzi uses green capsicum or green bell pepper! But if you want to make it more colorful and appealing you can even add colored bell peppers (red & yellow) along with the green ones.
Oil – I have used vegetable oil, but you can even prepare this sabzi in mustard oil, olive oil, or even ghee/clarified butter.
Spice Powders – To flavor the sabzi, we will use some basic spice powders such as coriander powder, turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, and dry mango powder. I prefer to use Kashmiri red chili powder as it gives a nice color to sabji without making it too spicy, but you can use regular red chili powder too.
Dry mango powder gives a nice tangy taste to the sabzi. You can adjust the amount of spice powders according to your taste and preference.
Others – A few other ingredients required to make this simple aloo capsicum sabzi even more delicious are asafetida, cumin seeds, onion, ginger garlic paste, and tomatoes.
How to make Aloo Capsicum?
Heat 3 tablespoon vegetable oil in a medium-size pan over high heat.
Once the oil is hot, add ¼ teaspoon asafoetida and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them crackle for 3-4 seconds.
Add 1 cup chopped onion and 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste to the pan and fry on medium heat for 2 minutes.
Add 1 cup peeled and cubed potatoes (approx 1 large potato) and mix well.
Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and cook on medium-low heat until potatoes are tender (10-12 minutes).
Remove the lid and add 1 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, and salt to taste to the pan and mix well.
Add 1 cup chopped tomatoes (approx 2 large tomatoes) and cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy.
Add 1 cup cubed green bell peppers (approx 2 bell peppers) and mix well.
Cover the pan again and cook on medium heat for another 8-10 minutes.
Remove the lid. Add ½ teaspoon dry mango powder and mix well.
Garnish with fresh coriander (cilantro) and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
To make it gluten-free, you can avoid adding hing/asafetida in the sabzi. All the other ingredients used to prepare this sabzi are gluten-free.
Serving Suggestions
I personally love to serve aloo capsicum with a simple dal (toor dal or moong dal), phulka, and a refreshing bowl of raita for my everyday meals. When I am packing it for lunch box, I pack it along with tawa paratha.
Aloo shimla mirch also tastes great with dal rice, sambar rice, or kadhi rice combination. You can also serve it with Indian bread such as bhakri, jowar roti, makki roti, ragi roti.
You can also use the leftover sabzi to make wraps/kathi rolls, sandwiches, or to stuff in dosa/parathas.
Storage Suggestions
Aloo shimla mirch sabzi will last in the fridge for about 4 to 5 days, when stored in an airtight container. If you are reheating it in microwave or pan, heat only the amount you want to serve. Reheating again and again can decrease its shelve life.
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Recipe Card
Aloo Capsicum
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 cup peeled and cubed potatoes
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- salt (to taste)
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper (1-inch pieces)
- 1 teaspoon dry mango powder
Instructions
- Heat 3 tablespoon vegetable oil in a medium-size pan over high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add ¼ teaspoon asafoetida and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them crackle for 3-4 seconds.
- Add 1 cup chopped onion and 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste to the pan and fry on medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add 1 cup peeled and cubed potatoes (approx 1 large potato) and mix well.
- Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and cook on medium-low heat until potatoes are tender (10-12 minutes).
- Remove the lid and add 1 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, and salt to taste to the pan and mix well.
- Add 1 cup chopped tomatoes (approx 2 large tomatoes) and cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy.
- Add 1 cup cubed green bell peppers (approx 2 bell peppers) and mix well.
- Cover the pan again and cook on medium heat for another 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the lid. Add ½ teaspoon dry mango powder and mix well.
- Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!