The original version of this recipe was to be made over the coals, seeing as I am not the ultimate braai master, I decided to adapt the recipe to my needs and make it in the oven.

Of course my peppers didn’t have braai marks on them or smell like charcoal, but it tasted just as delicious.

When I first came across this recipe, I skipped over it so many times, not because it said braai in the name, but for two reasons, the first my mother loathes green peppers, she has been known to pick out green pepper pieces in her food and leave it on the side of the plate.

And the second reason, well I have never stuffed a pepper in my life, that in itself is quiet daunting, so many things can go wrong, I could cut right through the pepper, it could burst while baking and leak and leave me with a dirty oven.

I was taken aback by how easy this dish was to make, the only complicated part was getting the pepper to stand up straight, but my brain gears kicked in and I popped the peppers into my muffin tin to cook and hey presto no leakage.

When my mother saw me bringing it to the table she was already complaining, but one bite and she was in love, the left over filling she made me fill a tortilla for her for supper.

Ingredients:

• 4 x colourful peppers, tops cut off and deseeded.
• 1 x onion, finely chopped.
• 1 x tsp ginger garlic paste.
• ½ x tsp cayenne pepper.
• ½ x tsp masala/curry powder.
• ½ x tsp peri peri sauce
• 1 x 410g tin crushed tomatoe mix.
• ½ x tomatoe paste.
• 1 x cup broccoli, chopped.
• 3 x stalks celery, chopped.
• 1 x 400ml can coconut milk.
• 1 x 410g tin of parboiled lentils, drained and rinsed.
• Salt and pepper to season.

Method:

• In a pot, heat some oil.
• Add the onions and saute till transparent.
• Add the ginger garlic paste, celery and broccoli, cook for a couple of minutes.
• Add the tomatoe mix and stir to mix everything.
• Add the spices, seasoning and lentils and toss.
• Add the coconut milk, stir to mix everything nicely.
• Cover and cook till all the liquid has been cooked away.
• Remove from the heat and spoon into the peppers.
• I added some grated cheese over the filling before I put the pepper tops back on.
• Pop into a preheated oven and bake at 180 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted.