Speaking of street food in my previous post, I couldn’t wait to post my all time favorite snack and a very popular street food of Andhra and now of Telangana too- Mirchi Bajji. Mirchi bajjis, are chili fritters that are dipped in a batter of gram flour or chickpea flour and deep fried in oil. In the southern parts of India, especially in the Andhra and Telangana regions, you can see the Mirchi bajji vendors on every other street. Whether it is a wedding or a pooja, Mirchi bajji is a must for most Telugu occasions. During the monsoons, it is the best snack to munch on in the evenings, and its spicy, tangy mirchi with the crispy outer coating makes it a perfect snack for the cool weather.
To prepare the mirchi bajji, we need to use a particular variety of chilies that are plump and less spicy. Otherwise, it will be overpoweringly spicy. I love this mirchi bajji so much that even when I was on my weight loss program, I wouldn’t give up on these bajjis and would have a cheat meal every now and then. If I had an appointment with my dietician the next morning, I would skip my dinner and breakfast the next morning, but still, eat my favorite mirchi bajjis. I remember in my childhood, sometimes my father used to bring these mirchi bajjis home on his way back from work and if we were fast asleep by that time, he would make sure to wake us up and feed us the hot bajji, though my mother used to tell him that she would feed us the next morning. He wanted us to eat them while they were warm as it tastes better warm. It was a way of showing his love for us.
So, last weekend I prepared these Mirchi bajjis and took them to my friend’s house. It was a nice excuse to meet our dear ones whom we couldn’t meet for almost two months. We are always busy with our things and sometimes are not able to take time out for our friends and loved ones. Maybe sometimes we need to put in that extra effort to make it happen. And when we make it happen, we are the people who are the happiest. Meeting friends and spending quality time with them is always fun, isn’t it?
There are many variations while making the stuffing for chilies. While some people use the tamarind paste for filling, others use roasted chana powder with a combination of spices. When you use the filling, make sure to fry them well otherwise they will remain uncooked on the inside. But I made the simple one without any stuffing. I served it with a delicious tomato chutney and onions soaked in lemon juice. I’m happy that my friends enjoyed this snack and we had a good time during the weekend. So for all the spice lovers out there (or even just food lovers because the food is love food is life, right?), hope you enjoy this recipe!
Click below to see the recipes for other appetizers:
Vegetable Noodle Spring Roll Tandoori platter Falafel Manchurian
Mirchi bajji recipe:
Wash and pat dry the chilies. Slit them vertically and remove the seeds if you want it to be less spicy. I left them as it is. Taking a bowl, add in some gram flour (besan), rice flour, red chili powder, baking soda or bicarbonate soda and salt to taste. Rice flour helps to make the outer coating crunchy, while baking soda helps the bajjis to be fluffy. You can also add some ajwain (carom seeds), but my kids don’t like them much, so I skipped adding them. Ajwain helps in digestion. That’s why our ancestors used to add jeera or ajwain in most of the fried foods to help make them digest easily. Moving on, mix all the ingredients and make it into a thick batter by adding water little by little to reach the desired consistency. Neither too thick nor too thin. The chilies should get coated well when they are being dunked in the batter.
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Dip the chilies in the batter and sweep off one side of the coated chili with any utensil such that the chili would be seen from only one side. This helps the chili to cook well from inside. Fry them in the oil, turning them ’til they turn golden and cooked well inside. Drain them on a paper towel to remove the excess oil. Serve them with finely chopped onions and corianders leaves that were sprinkled with lime juice and chaat masala. You can slit the bajjis and stuff them with this onion mixture, just before you serve them.
I prepared some green tomato chutney to eat with these bajjis, just like how we used to eat in Hyderabad on any street side. In India, we get raw tomatoes, but here in the US, I only see riped red tomatoes. Last time I bought some tomatillos (Mexican green tomatoes) in the Indian grocery shop (without knowing much about them), but I was sure that I would make some good use of them. So, I made some green tomato/tomatillo chutney with them that turned out so well that my family couldn’t stop licking their fingers. I will share the recipe with you all.
Click here to see the other famous street snack/chaat recipe Cheese Pav Bhaji and Sweet potato Ragda
Green Tomato/Tomatillo Chutney:
Wash and cut the tomatoes into cubes. I used one red tomato as well along with the green ones. Heat some oil in a pan and add the tomatoes. Cook them for few minutes till the raw flavor is gone and add in some finely chopped green chilies and tamarind. You can use the tamarind pulp also if you want to. Add a pinch of turmeric powder, red chili powder, and salt to taste. Let it cook for a few more minutes till tomatoes are cooked well and turn off the heat. When the mixture is cooled down, blend it into a consistency that is required for a chutney (not too thick, not too watery either) using a blender or chutney grinder. Don’t add any water to the tomatoes mixture itself has a lot of water in it. Add some fresh coriander leaves while grinding them. Transfer it to a serving bowl and temper it. For tempering, heat some oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, white urad dal, cumin seeds, hing (asafoetida), dry red chilies and curry leaves. Adding a pinch of methi powder (fenugreek powder) will enhance the taste. Serve it with the hot and spicy bajjis! Enjoy 😀
Click here for the recipes of other chutneys on my blog!
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
people
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- 10-12 bajji chilies
- 1 1/2 cup gram flour (besan)
- 2 tbsp rice flour
- 1/2-1 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda/ bicarbonate soda
- 1/4 tsp ajwain (carom seeds) (optional)
- a pinch of turmeric powder (optional)
- salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Ingredients
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- Wash and pat dry chilies. Slit them vertically and remove the seeds if you want it to be less spicy.
- Taking a bowl, add in gram flour, rice flour, red chili powder, baking soda, salt, ajwain and turmeric (optional) and mix well.
- Make it into a thick batter by adding water little by little till you reach the desired consistency. (Neither too thick nor too thin)
- Heat enough oil in a frying pan to deep fry the bajjis.
- When the oil is hot, dip the slit chilies in the batter and drop them into the oil carefully.
- Turn them to the other side and fry till they turn golden in color.
- Keep the heat in medium so that the bajjis won't burn from the outside and remain uncooked on the inside.
- Remove them from the oil and transfer onto a paper towel to drain the excess oil.
- Serve it with the chopped onions and coriander leaves that were sprinkled with lime juice and chaat masala.
- Enjoy!
