Bell Peppers, popularly known as capsicum or sweet peppers, are used in multicusines worldwide. They are known as Shimla Mirch in Hindi, Kuda Milagai in Tamil, Pedda Mirappa in Telugu, Parangi Mulagu in Malayalam, Bhopli Mirchi in Marathi, Simla Marchan in Gujarati, Simla Mirch in Bengali, and Donne Menasinakai in Kannada.
Bell peppers come in various colours, such as red, yellow, orange, and green.
A summer vegetable and a kidney friendly vegetable which can be consumed without leaching. It is low in potassium (100g of green capsicum gives 154mg of potassium) vegetable. Apart from that, they are excellent sources of Vitamin C which helps in the absorption of iron. Bell peppers are also good sources of Vitamin A. Both Vitamin A and C are antioxidants which fight off free radicals and help in building immunity which is imperative in kidney patients. They are also good sources of Vitamin B6, Folic acid and Fibre which helps in reducing the homocysteine levels thus reducing the risk for heart disease.
Studies have found that capsaicin, an enzyme found in capsicum can increase your metabolism, which increases the rate at which you use energy and burn fat stores.
Bell peppers can be eaten raw in a salad or as an appetizer. It can also be cooked in the form of gravies, added to any breakfast item or one can also roast peppers and use them as a topping on sandwiches chop them for an omelette, add them to kababs on the grill or stuff peppers and bake them for a main dish.