Achari Aloo Capsicum is a simple curry made with a special achari (pickle) masala. It has a slightly tangy & spicy flavor which makes this dish delicious.
If you love cooking vegetarian/vegan recipes then please join me on my Facebook Page – Cookilicious.
Table of Contents
Food is a science in my country
I keep hearing from my non-Indian friends how much they love the Indian curry. They always ask me about the flavors and the spices I use. There have been numerous occasions where I have shared my spice pantry with my neighbors and friends, along with a recipe. It also feels so good to talk and share about my kind of food through this blog. One of recent recipe that I shared was loved by my non-Indian neighbor - Thai Mutter Paneer.
I get to enlighten my readers about this wonderful cuisine that is so close to my heart. Indian cuisine is very diverse. Ever state, city, town, village has some unique recipe to offer. We have been using spices and certain flavors since many generations.
Like for example, our forefathers knew the benefits of turmeric, whole spices, basil, cardamom, etc ages ago which the world is discovering today. Food is a science in my country and we are extremely passionate about everything related to it!
Indian Thali decoded!
We have all kinds of flavors in our cooking. In fact, the traditional Indian Thali consists of such multiple flavors in one meal. There is a little bit of everything on that plate - bitter, salty, sour, astringent, sweet and pungent. Our food is applauded for its curries, gravies, mouth-burning spices and complex flavor pairings. With its use of garam masala, cardamom, chilly powder, tamarind and other pungent ingredients, the resulting taste combinations are unlike anything found elsewhere around the world.
There have been studies to find out why Indian food is so good — it’s because we use fewer number of overlapping flavors as ingredients.
In Western cuisines, I have noticed, we try to club ingredients which taste similar whereas in Indian cooking we use ingredients which do not have any chemical overlaps but each of them bring in their own flavor to the dish, making it exceptional.
Now let's talk about this recipe
It's called Achari Aloo Capsicum which if I translate, means Pickled Potatoes and Bell Pepper curry. As a country, we are also known for our pickles/achar. They are generally pickled with oil, vinegar, lemon juice or water and are often made into fresh relish and chutney. We make all kinds of pickles - raw mango pickle, lemon pickle, carrot pickle, green chillies pickle, garlic pickle, Indian Gooseberry pickle, tomato pickle to name a few best ones.
Personally I love the raw mango pickle. Its tangy, spicy and lip smacking. I usually enjoy a little pickle with curd rice or any Paratha. That is one heck of a combination!
In this recipe, I have combined the flavors of pickle in the simple Potato and Bell Pepper curry. However, I have also added a special Achari masala that I made at home for an additional flavor. Will share that recipe soon.
Here is how I made Achari Aloo Capsicum.
- In a pan, heat oil
. Temper mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add and fry garlic till they turn golden. Be careful to not burn them. - Now add the potatoes and salt. Saute them till the potatoes turn soft and are cooked.
- Now add the onions. Saute them till they become translucent.
- Add chopped spinach and cook till they begin to wilt.
- Then add the chopped capsicum/bell peppers. Saute till they are cooked.
- add pickle, achari masala, turmeric powder and cumin powder. Give it a good mix. Add salt after this if required, because the pickle already is salty.
. Temper 
and 
. Add and fry garlic till they turn golden. Be careful to not burn them.
turn soft and are cooked.
, achari masala, Serving Suggestions
Achari Aloo Capsicum/Pickled Potato Bell Pepper curry or sabzi is ready. Garnish with cilantro. Serve this dish with any Indian flatbread, plain rice
. Suggest you keep the rice mildly flavored so that you can enjoy the flavors of this curry. Like most pickles, this too is finger licking good!
Some Indian curries that you will love
Black Eyed Peas and Dill Curry
Vegan Grilled Potatoes Cooked In Spicy Mustard Gravy
If you’ve tried this Achari Aloo Capsicum or any other recipe on the blog please let me know. I welcome your comments, star ratings, tweaks and suggestions.
Similarly, please tag me on Instagram @cookilicious or using #cookiliciousveg when you recreate a recipe from here. I’m always happy to see you share my recipes with the world. Yay!!!
Remember to follow me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious vegetarian and vegan recipe and what I’m getting up to.
Achari Aloo Capsicum | Pickled Potato Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4-5 large potatoes chopped
- 2 bell peppers
- 1/2 cup chopped spinach optional
- 1-2 tbsp raw mango pickle
- Salt as required
- 1 tbsp achari masala
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tbsp cilantro for garnish chopped
Instructions
- In a pan, heat oil. Temper mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
- Add and fry garlic till they turn golden. Be careful to not burn them.
- Now add the potatoes and salt. Saute them till the potatoes turn soft and are cooked.
- Now add the onions. Saute them till they become translucent.
- Add spinach and cook for a minute.
- Then add the chopped capsicum/bell peppers. Saute till they are cooked.
- Add pickle, achari masala, turmeric powder and cumin powder. Give it a good mix. Add salt after this if required, because the pickle already is salty.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro.
- Achari Aloo Capsicum/Pickled Potato Bell Pepper curry or sabzi is ready. Serve this dish with any Indian flatbread or rice like Saffron Rice/Sesame flavored Rice /Cilantro Pot rice (Spinach Infused).
Notes
- You can add any other pickle variety to this dish to give it a different taste.
- Add salt only after checking the curry after adding the pickle.
- Reduce the quantity of pickle if you want to make it less tangy and hot.
- Add another tbsp of pickle if achari masala is not available to you.
- Suggest you keep the rice mildly flavored so that you can enjoy the flavors of this curry.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information on my Affiliate and Advertising Policy, please click here.
I've never quite seen anything like this, it looks amazing!! I'm pinning for later. Thanks so much for linking up at You Link It, We Make It and we hope to see you back tomorrow!
What a nutritious dish! Wholesome, vegan and nutritious! So good for you! I love that you added mustard seeds! Pinning and stumbleing! Love it!
This is another yummy looking dish. Thanks for sharing your recipe at the Over the Moon Link Party.
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe at The Recipe Sharing Pin and Yum Party! I hope to see you next week. Pinned and Yummed.
Please visit Thursday Favorite Things for more sharing fun!
This is such an interesting recipe! Thanks for linking up with What's Cookin' Wednesday!
So good. Love the mix of flavours 🙂
Yum! This looks and sounds so good! I bet my husband would really enjoy this! Thanks for sharing! #SmallVictories
This looks fabulous! I can't wait to try this dish and some of the others you highlighted, but I am very intrigued by the "pickled mango" in the dish. Thank you so much for joining the Sunday Fitness & Food Link-Up 🙂 One of my favorite things about the link are all the unique & flavorful recipes that are shared. Pinned & Yummed, Have a Great Week!!!
Thank you. Trust me, the pickle does wonders to this recipe. Try it. 🙂
Those vibrant colors make it look like I want to eat it now! And it all sounds so delicious! Thanks for sharing on the "What's for Dinner" link up!