Capsicum Rice / Capsicum Masala Rice

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Capsicum chunks - 1 cup (I used green, yellow and orange)

Onion (large) - 1 (chopped lengthwise)

Whole garam masala (cinnamon, anise, nutmeg, cloves & bay leaf) - 1/2 tbsp

Cashews - 1 tbsp

Fennel seeds - 1/4 tbsp

Salt - as per taste

Oil - 2 tbsp

To prepare spice powder:

Bengal gram - 1 tbsp

Urad dal - 1 tbsp 

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbsp

Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp

Groundnuts - 2 tbsp

Red chillies - 3

Curry leaves - 3-4

Garam masala - 1/2 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Cook basmati rice and spread as a layer on a wide plate (to get grainy texture).
2. Take a kadai, dry roast all the ingredients mentioned under spice powder except garam masala  and blend together to get slightly coarse powder. Now add garam masala and blend one more time to get a uniform mixture.
3. In the same kadai, heat oil, add fennel seeds, whole garam masala, cashews and fry until a nice aroma comes out.
4. Add finely chopped onion and saute until they are transparent. Then drop all the capsicum chunks and cook until they are slightly tender. 
5. Now add the ground spice powder, adjust salt and stir well. Finally add cooked rice and mix well until until all the grains are well coated with spicy capsicum mixture.

TIP: Do not over cook capsicum, it should retain its crispness for better taste. Similarly do not add excess whole garam masala, just add a little of each ingredient to enhance the flavor of rice.