Clean and slice the potatoes and carrots and place them in a microwave safe bowl. Add the green peas to the bowl and sprinkle some water. Cook them until they are halfway done in the microwave. Mine takes about 6 minutes to cook the vegetables half way through. The time can vary depending on the microwave. Make sure that the vegetables are not mushy as they will cook further in the gravy. This step helps in making the cooking process faster.
Cube the onions and slice the bell pepper. In the pan or kadai that we are going to make the subzi, add 1 tablespoon of oil and saute them until they half cooked. Make sure the bell pepper still has some crunch to it. Remove this on a plate and keep it aside. We will add this at the end to the subzi.
Puree the tomatoes and keep them aside.
In the same pan, heat the remaining oil. Add the finely chopped onions and saute until translucent. Now add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute more.
Add the tomato puree and mix well.
Next add the turmeric powder and the chili powder and mix well. Cook the masala on medium heat until the oil separated from the sides of the pan. This will take a good 10 minutes. Don't rush this step.
Now add the semi cooked vegetables to the pan and mix.
Add about 2 cups of water and salt and mix well. Let the subzi cook in medium heat for about 5 minutes and then simmer further for 5 minutes. Make sure that the vegetables are cooked well by now.
Add the kadai masala along with the bell pepper and onions that we had kept aside and mix well. Let it simmer further for 5 minutes. Adjust the consistency of the gravy at this stage. Add water if the subzi appears too dry.
Just before switching off the flame, add the cream to the subzi and mix. Turn off the flame.
Serve hot with paratha, naan or rice.