Long ago, I read this recipe in a magazine. Don’t remember which – Woman’s Era, Caravan. Yeah my mom still subscribes to them. Now this is before I got into cooking. I had the habit of writing recipes in a long note book and saving it for a rainy day.
A few years back, this rainy day did come and I decided to attempt this dish. Oh My, the Sun was shining suddenly. It had such a wonderful flavour and you really don’t need anything to accompany it. An entrant in most of my party menus and one of my aunts still asks me to make it when she visits.
Some modifications later, this masala paste is something I make often and freeze. (Shelf life in freezer – about a month) Have no idea how Mexican it really is, but I call it my Mexican red paste. I use it to make rice like i have today. Sometimes I keep it simple and sometimes I add chopped sausages or sautéed chicken or prawns. (In the picture above there is some sautéed chicken in the blue bowl to mix in later)
I use this paste to cook my chicken which I then stuff in different Mexican dishes like Tacos, Quesadillas, Wraps, etc. I am a capsicum hater, Yes i declared it in public, but this recipe is the only one where I will allow Capsicum to enter my kitchen. Hope u like it
Ingredients
1 big red capsicum,
4 tomatoes,
4 dry Kashmiri red chilies (Adjust as per spice preference)
10-15 garlic,
1 sliced onion,
salt,
Olive oil,
1 glass washed and soaked rice,
2 glasses water
1) Chop tomatoes, capsicum, garlic. Big pieces are fine
2) sauté tomatoes, capsicum, garlic and red chillies together in olive oil in high flame. Keep the flame high and keep mixing.
3) the mix needs to char a bit but be careful not to burn it.
4) blend it in a mixer with minimum water. The extra leftover paste, you can freeze if you wish.
5) heat olive oil in a vessel and sauté onions
6) add 3 tbsp of the Mexican paste and washed rice
7) fry it for some time, add salt. (I also add a cube or two of maggi masala/chicken cubes-Optional)
8) add the water and cover the lid. Keep on high flame
8) when it comes to a boil then lower the gas and let it cook for 15 minutes. Shut the gas. Keep it covered for 5 more minutes after shutting the gas.
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