Mirchi bajji

Mirchi bajji:

Ingredients Needed:

Banana peppers - 10

Gram flour/kadalai mavu/ besan - 1 cup

Rice flour/ Arisi mavu - 1/4 cup

Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Asafoetida/ hing/kaya podi-1/4 tsp

1/4 teaspoon carom seeds

Ginger Garlic paste-2tsp

Baking soda a pinch

Oil for deep frying 

Water as needed

How To Make:

Rinse green chilies in water and dry them using kitchen towel. Slit them lengthwise on single side using knife, by keeping ends intact ( as shown in the picture). Remove the seeds with the help of knife or spoon to reduce the hotness of chilli.

Now prepare stuffing roast gram dal, sesame seeds and coriander seeds together over low flame for approx. 2-minutes and transfer to a plate. Let it cool for 3-4 minutes.

Add roasted gram dal, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, dried coconut powder, carom seeds, red chilli powder, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt in the chutney jar of a mixer grinder.

Grind it into medium coarse texture and transfer to a bowl filling for stuffed mirchi bhaji is now ready.

Take one green chilli, gently open the slit using your fingers and fill in the stuffing mixture (approx. 1 tablespoon); place it in a plate. Stuff all the chilies with the same process.

Now prepare batter for coating bhaji add gram flour, rice flour, a pinch of baking powder, red chilli powder, cumin seeds and slat in a large bowl. Add water (approx. 1/2 cup or as required) little by little and mix using a spoon until same thick consistency (like thick buttermilk consistency or pancake batter consistency.) Make sure that there are no lumps in the batter.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan over medium flame. when oil is medium hot, dip stuffed mirchi one at a time into batter and drop it gently into hot oil: add 2-3 batter covered stuffed chilies at a time and deep-fry them until they turn light brown and crispy.

Take them out using slotted spoon and drain excess oil. Transfer them over kitchen paper in a plate. Deep fry the remaining bhajjis in the same way. Serve stuffed mirchi bajji with tomato ketchup and hari dhaniya chutney.