Tender crisp, stuffed mini peppers evocative of Indian pickle spices, are perfect for a fall get together! Quick and easy, vegan, gluten free recipe!

Are you enjoying the gorgeous fall colors where you live? Here in New England, the trees are displaying their autumn splendor in gorgeous yellow ochre, orange and red! The weather has been sunny and crisp these past few days too.
The fresh, crisp mini peppers in yellow, orange and red seem to take their cue from nature. These peppers are not hot and their awesome taste and crunch make them perfect for fall appetizers. As I gravitate towards warm food in the cooler temperatures, I started thinking about the nutrient rich sesame seeds. According to Ayurveda, they also help generate heat in the body.
The stuffing of split mustard seeds, asafetida, fenugreek seeds, chili and turmeric powder, is evocative of Indian pickles.
This one pan dish is made by laying the stuffed mini peppers over tempered oil, cooking them just for a few minutes until tender crisp and then served with a fresh squeeze of lime!
I love serving them straight out of my cast iron pan.Do you love cooking in a cast iron pan as much as I do?
Achari Mini Peppers
Ingredients-
For the stuffing-
- 2 tablespoons brown sesame seeds, roasted
- 1 table spoon split and husked mustard seeds, roasted
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Salt to taste
- 10 mini peppers, split in half lengthwise, deseeded and pith removed
For the tempering-
- 1 teaspoon oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida powder
Juice of ½ lime
To Make the Achari Mini Peppers-
- Grind together the roasted sesame seeds and the roasted split mustard seeds into a coarse mixture. Add the asafetida, turmeric and chili powders, brown sugar and salt. Mix all together.
- Lightly fill the peppers with this mixture.
- In a cast iron pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, add the fenugreek seeds and the asafetida powder.
- Turn down the heat to low, arrange the stuffed peppers on top and let them cook for about 2 minutes or until they are roasted on the bottom but tender crisp on the sides.
- Squeeze the lime juice over the peppers and serve the sizzling peppers immediately.
Enjoy! I am taking my Achari Mini Pepper appetizer to Fiesta Friday co-hosted this week by Julianna @ Foodie on Board and Zeba @ Food For The Soul
Love,
❤
Sandhya
I love these Sandhya, They look delicious I think the spicing is brilliant. I have to see if I have everything needed to make these, I think I could eat the whole pan full.
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Thanks Suzanne! My husband does not care much for peppers so I ate most of them too. They are figure friendly 🙂
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They look so very good. wow, as the girl above already said, I think the whole pan full looks just about right amount to eat.
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Thanks so much Eddie! My husband does not care much for peppers, so I did get to eat most of them 🙂
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Looks yum!!
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Looks delicious Sandhya. Love the colours. I have eaten some chili achar once in my friends place looks like it. Think this will be less spicer compared to that.
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Meena, the pepers are very mild. So I add chili powder to these 🙂
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Yum! These will make a wonderful side dish, too! Thank you for the recipe, Sandhya!
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Yes, I had them as a side dish too 🙂 Thanks so much!
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Thanks so much!
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Looks delicious… Amazing.. Love the colorful plate
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Thanks so much Ruchi!
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Love mini peppers!
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Thanks so much Debbie! Me too.
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Love those gorgeous Fall hues Sandhya. On our recent trip to Northern Ontario, we experienced it in all its glory and splendor. But as we drove south, the colors just disappeared. Here in DE, we haven’t had our leaves turning yet. I can’t wait. Your gorgeous Achari mini peppers are just eye catching and that cast iron pan? I wish I had one, the presentation is beautiful! Have a great weekend.
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Thanks again Loretta. Your photos from Northern Ontario were simply spectacular! The leaves have turned here and there is frost some mornings! I use that cast iron pan all the time. It is well seasoned now so I don’t need much oil in it either. Have a great weekend!
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Delicious!
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Thanks so much Cindy!
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This is such a great idea, Sandhya. Definitely goes on my list to prepare soon. 🙂
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Thanks so much Ronit!
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Love mini peppers! You recipe is so delish and that pan is gorgeous
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Thanks Archana.I use that pan all the time.
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Sandhya…what a creative and intriguing recipe. The picture looks fantastic and I feel like picking one right off the screen 🙂 Looks delicious and thanks for sharing on Fiesta Friday!
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Thanks so much Zeba! Thank you for hosting FF!
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Hi sandhya, loved those colour combinations. An amazing rangoli of flavour filled Achari peppers!! Thanks for this great share:)
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Thanks Sumith! Could not resist the colorful peppers!
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I could use some of those now!
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Thanks Terri!
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Yum! I am thinking to make it as a side dish of fried curry noodle. What do you think it is best with?
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Sounds yummy with the fried curry noodles, Indah!
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I’ve had trouble with my comments not going through but hopefully that problem is fixed now. I love these little peppers you can buy in the store by the bagful. I usually just use them here and there but you have provided a recipe to use a bunch. Thanks Sandhya…
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Hi Judi, It is always so nice to hear from you! I love these colorful, crunchy peppers to munch on too. So got over zealous and bought a huge bag and then had to figure out a way to use a bunch 🙂 They worked out well as an appetizer or as a side dish with warm rice and dal- my comfort food!
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Sandhya, your photos are just amazing! This is so colorful and appealing!
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It looks so tasty i m surely gonna try it
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Thanks so much. Hope you like it as much as we did!
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wow what a different recipe. i have never made anything like this before.. i make Peri bites from Nando’s and the Imli chutney filled mirchi pakoras. but this looks yummyyy and interesting
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Thank you so much. These are delicious, if I may say so myself 😉 the Peri bites sound yummy too…and pakoras, Yum!
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the peri bites are super easy…
Just slit the Chilli, remove the seeds
add chicken ( i like to saute it in salt,pepper and garlic) I personally don’t like plain boiled chicken…
i use the ready made Nando’s sauces available in the market normally… if those are not available I just make a sauce at home with mayo …
coat with egg…Flour… egg…breadcrumb…
deep fry until golden!
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Sounds delicious! Thanks!
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Tried – its awesome! Thanks 👌
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Thanks so much for letting me know! I appreciate your feedback.
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Awesome
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Thank you so much! They are my favorite too.
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Looking for recipes for a Diwali party Im hosting this year. Your site is my go to at the moment 🙂 Thinking of this for one of the appetizers. I had two quick questions though. Can I use black sesame instead of brown and can I simply use the regular mustard seeds by roasting and then grinding them? Not sure where I will find split ones 😦
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Sorry about my delay in replying. I was down with a viral infection. I am so happy that Indfused is your go to site! Thanks!
As for your question about the mustard seeds, yes just whirling the roasted mustard seeds for a few quick seconds will do. For the sesame seeds, I am partial to the taste of the brown ones but if you like the taste of the black ones, go ahead.
Good luck with your party. Do let your friends know about Indfused too.
Happy Diwali!
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Take care! And yes I will without a doubt share the recipes I use from Indfused with interested guests 🙂 Happy Diwali!!
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Happy Diwali to you too! Enjoy!
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Hello again Sandhya, apologies for the late update but I did try this recipe for Diwali and simply loved it. My guests too were firstly amazed at where I got such “hatke” ideas and I gave full credits to you 🙂 Thanks again!
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I am so happy that your party and teh Achari mini peppers were a sucess!Thanks so much for letting me know and for spreading the word about Indfused!
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I am so happy to hear from you and am glad that you and your guests liked this recipe! Thank you for giving credit to Indfused!
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Thanks so much!
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Thank you for including the Achari mini peppers! They are my favorite too!
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