RecipeReplica: Flambeed Orange Peppers, SweetPea in Tomato-Onion Gravy

Flambe` - A showy cooking technique where an alcoholic beverage, such as brandy, is added to hot food to create a burst of flames.I have some other definition for it-- for someone who isn't properly trained for it, like me, its DiSaSter. You could lose an eyebrow or two when trying such a thing.When I read that this technique could  be mimicked using just water minus the liquor at a wonderful blog called Foodelicious I just had to try. So I smoked the oil in  the pan, sprinkled water on the chopped peppers(OMG, OMG!) and with a prayer dropped them into the oil that was a few seconds from catching fire. I chickened out in the end, did not wait to see those chunked peppers create sparks,lidded the pan for a few seconds to prevent splish-splash on my beautiful tumble-marble backsplash.Nevertheless, the peppers were perfectly cooked, yet retained the crunch. That and the sweetpea in the gravy was a winner in the house. Thanks Pari, for throwing light on this technique. I hope to master it soon.

Ingredients:

• Peppers, any color - 3 medium or 12 mini, seeds and membranes removed, diced
• SweetPea, fresh or frozen - a handful
• Roma Tomatoes, very ripe - 3, medium, diced
• Onion - 1, large, diced
• Garlic - 6, small pods
• Ginger - 1/2 inch, chopped
• Bay leaf - 1
• Star Anise - 1
• Olive oil - 4 tbsp
• Butter - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - a pinch
• Chill Powder - 1 tsp
• Curry Powder - 1 tsp
• Salt for taste.

Procedure:

• In a shallow pan, heat a tbsp of oil, add the chunked onions, garlic pods and chopped ginger.Saute until onion is browned.
• Add the tomatoes and fry it until it loses the raw smell.
• Cool the mixture and grind them coarsely. Set aside.
• In the same pan, warm a tbsp of oil , add the bay leaf and star anise. Return the ground mixture to the pan.
• Add the sweet pea, turmeric powder, chilli powder and curry powder along with a cup of water. Sprinkle salt and check for taste.
• In another shallow pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil and bring it to a smoking point. Sprinkle water on the diced peppers and throw them into the pan. 
• Toss the peppers, like a pro, for a minute until they are crisped.
• Add the peppers to the gravy pan and cook just until the gravy thickens.
• Switch off the stove and drizzle a tsp of butter on top.
• Serve hot with Rice, Ghee Rice, Pilaf or Roti.

Enjoy!