Mirchi Bhajji

Mirchi bhajji, stuffed pepper fritters, one of the most common streets foods.
mmmmm..... I remember buying this at the street vendor, he gives these bhajjis accompanied with chopped onions and roasted peanuts, all wrapped in a paper.. haha.... slurrrrp !!! How I love street food !!
This can be made at home with any type of pepper you prefer, like banana peppers or jalapeno peppers .
I prefer banana peppers.

Ingredients:

• Banana Peppers : 8 -10
• Tamarind - gooseberry sized
• Carom Seeds ( Ajwain ) - 1 tsp
• Gram Flour ( Besan ) - 1 cup
• Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp ( optional ) - This helps the make the bhajjis crispy 
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - to deep fry

Directions: 

• Soak tamarind for half an hour, remove seeds. Or for instant result, microwave tamarind with very little water for 30 secs. Stir and microwave again for another 30 secs. Keep aside. Let it cool.
• In a grinder, take carom seeds and give them a pulse. When they are crushed, add tamarind along with water and salt and grind it to a paste. Keep aside
• Now, slit the pepper lengthwise, and remove seeds from them if you do not want it to be too hot. If you like it hot, let them be. 
• Stuff these peppers with the tamarind-carom paste. Let them sit for about an hour. You can make them immediately as well but if you let them sit for a while, it taste better when the peppers absorb the flavours. Also if you are making these for a party, you can stuff and keep these ready for even 5-6 hours and fry them just before the party. 
• Now to make the batter, take besan in a mixing bowl, add salt and baking soda. Mix. Add water little at a time and mix well with the help of an egg beater. The consistency should be just right to coat the peppers, neither hard nor runny. 
• Heat the oil in a deep frying pan. To test the right temperature, add just a drop of batter into the oil. The batter should neither come up too soon nor should it sit for long. It should sizzle for about 2 seconds and then float up. 
• Now, drop the stuffed peppers into the batter and drop them in the hot oil. Deep fry till it is golden from all the sides. Fry them on medium heat. 
• When done, drain the excess oil on the kitchen towel. 

Serving Suggestions: 

• Serve them hot with Green Chutney or Tamarind Chutney 
• Or, along with finely chopped onions. Sprinkle some lemon juice on the onions and some roasted peanuts. 
• Or, after you fry the bhajjis, make another slit lengthwise and fill with these onions sprinkled with lemon juice and serve.
• Or, Slice the bhajjis into pieces and spread on the plate, sprinkle onions with lemon juice and roasted peanuts and sev and chopped cilantro. 
• Enjoyyyyyy !!!!

Variation : 

The above mentioned is usually a South Indian recipe of Mirchi Bhajji.

The North Indian recipe has a different stuffing. The stuffing of boiled potato. 

Stuffing :

• Mashed Boiled Potato - 1 cup
• Chopped Onion - 1/2 cup
• Chopped Cilantro - 1 tbsp
• Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
• Chat Masala - 1/4 tsp
• Lemon Juice - 1 tsp
• Salt - a pinch

Mix all these well and stuff in the slit peppers. The remaining recipe remains the same.