Mirchi bhajji wasn’t my cup of tea initially but certainly a popular South Indian or shall I say Andhra snack that husband enjoys. So what are they exactly? Deseeded long green chillies coated in besan (gram) flour batter and deep fried. Though they are crispy and nice, it is something I prepare once in a while and therefore, I want it a little more flavoursome. Thus, I opt for stuffed mirchi bhajjis.
Here’s how I prepare mirchi bhajji with potato filling.
- Peel potatoes, cut into cubes then boil them. Small pieces are cooked quickly compared to whole potatoes. One medium size potato should be enough for stuffing eight chillies.
2. Meanwhile wash the chillies properly then wipe them dry with a paper towel or clean cloth.
3. Slit open the chillies vertically in the middle.
4. Deseed the chillies using a teaspoon. I prefer to leave a tiny bit of seeds (usually at the top) to get the taste of chilli else it becomes too bland without the seeds.
5. When the potatoes are cooked, mash them with a fork or potato masher. (While my husband thinks I’m queen of kitchen gadgets, I don’t have a potato ricer. But if you have it, use it by all means.😆)
6. Add the following to the mashed potatoes - turmeric powder, salt, lightly roasted cumin seeds (jeera) and carom seeds (ajwain). You may add other ingredients that you prefer but I like it keep it simple. This is now ready to be stuffed in the chillies.
7. For the batter, I use besan (gram) flour and add some turmeric powder and salt to it. I also add little bit of rice powder / rice flour to make the snack crispy. But corn flour can be used for the same. You can add any further ingredients that you wish to, but as I said earlier, I like to keep it simple. For eight chillies, I’ve used about eight tablespoons of besan (gram) flour and one-two tablespoons of rice powder / rice flour. Mix all the dry ingredients well then add water slowly while mixing it with a spoon to form a thick batter. Make sure your batter is not runny. It needs to be thick enough for the chillies to be easily coated.
8. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Meanwhile fill the chillies with potato stuffing.
9. Dip the stuffed chilli in the batter, rotate it around, holding the stem of the chilli for an even coating. Make sure the batter covers the open side of the chilli else the potato stuffing can spill out and also oil will enter the chilli.
10. Make sure the oil is hot so that the chilli absorbs less oil. You can check this by adding a tiny bit of batter to it. Once the oil is hot, you can keep the pan on medium flame. Add the chilli to the hot oil. Repeat step 9 until the pan has enough chillies in it.
11. Once cooked to golden brown colour, strain the chillies and put them on paper towel on a plate to absorb excess oil.
If you happen to try this out, I hope you enjoy your mirchi bhajji.
Note: In the same way, you can fill the mirchis (chilies) with powder made out of roasted peanut, some grated then roasted fresh coconut flesh, along with roasted white sesame seeds as the main ingredients.
I like to experiment in the kitchen and these are the variations of mirchi bhajji I enjoy.
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