Capsicum/Bell Pepper Pulao baked with cheese

Day # 7 Blogging Marathon
The Blogging Marathon has been a real fun and satisfying experience. With so many good food bloggers posting varied recipes there was a lot of encouragement and motivation to keep the pace of blogging and present different kid friendly recipes from my space too. With this being the final post for the week long blogging marathon, I decided to end on a colourful and healthy note. This Baked bell pepper cheese pulao/rice is what caught my attention while blog hopping this morning. Usmasala is one of my favourite food blogs and love Aipi's recipes, presentation, clicks and also the frequency at which she makes her posts. There is so much colour, spice and life in her blog. Thanks Aipi for such wonderful recipes.

Ingredients for the baked capsicum/bell pepper pulao(this is how I made it):
Basmati Rice - 1 cup (wash, cook and keep aside)
Bell Peppers/Capsicum - 1/2 cup (you may use a combination of green, yellow and red bell peppers)
Cummin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing- 2 pinches
Salt to Taste
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Spring onions - 3 to 4 tbsp finely chopped
Garlic - 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
Lemon juice - 1 to 2 tsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Shredded cheese - 1/2 cup
I skipped the green chillies and a few of the spices for the idea was to please my little critic.

Method:
1- Wash, clean and cook the basmati rice in a microwave for 15 minutes with 1.5 cups of water. Keep aside to cool.
2- Take a pan and add in the cummin seeds and hing. Add in the finely chopped garlic, spring onions and chopped capsicum. Saute for 4-5 minutes till the vegetables are slightly cooked. Add salt and turmeric powder and saute well. Add in the cooked basmati rice and lemon juice and mix well.
3- Spread the rice on a greased baking tray and top with cheese.Bake at Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C for approximately 12-16(do not overdo it as the rice would turn dry) minutes.
Served it with an onion raita and chicken kofta curry. Thanks Aipi for the fabulous recipe my daughter gave it a thumbs up and asked me to post it for the Kids Special of the Blogging Marathon(now that says it all I suppose:)I know I could have added a little more cheese but at the final moment got a little calorie conscious. My daughter loved this flavourful rice and definitely did point out that a little more cheese could be added.