Mirchi Bhajiya| Mirchi Vada| Potato Stuffed Chili Fritters

 My Father was raised in Rajasthan and he lived there until he completed his Engineering. His roots to the place and culture were engraved deep down in his personality and eating habits. He was always fond of the place with which he always had a special connection. We always used to wonder what made him fall in love with just a place which was in comparison to Mumbai (Bombay) not urban enough. But now that we have grown up and living away from our roots in totally different countries and states in India we can completely relate to his emotion for the place. The memories he must have had back then when we were kids and friends he missed all his life were never understood by us. But today through my blog I pay a tribute to my Father and share this lovely dish with you all. This dish in particular was on his top list and with his birthday round the corner it becomes more important for me to prepare this. In North India it is referred to as Mirchi Vada, Mirch Pakoda or Mirch Bhajiya but in Mumbai it has its own special name "Cut Mirchi". I never could wrap my brain around the name of this dish, but when I asked one vendor as to the relevance of the name out of curiosity. He mentioned the reason it is called Cut Mirchi because it is served in cuts and not as a whole. It just amuses me to see how same dish is referred differently in same country.

Let's have a look at a recipe:

Ingredients for Stuffing:

2 Boiled and Peeled Potatoes
2 tbsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
1 tbsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp crushed Kasuri Methi
1 tsp Aamchur Powder (Dry Mango Powder)
Chopped Coriander
Salt

Ingredients for Batter:

2 tbsp Gram Flour| Chickpea Flour| Besan
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
1 tbsp Coriander Powder
Salt

Ingredients for Pakoda:

4 non spicy Green Chili's
Oil to Fry
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt
Water to soak the chili's

Method:

Slit the green chili's and deseed them carefully. Make sure you are using the non spicy green chili and not the spicy one.

In a bowl add water, turmeric and salt and add slit green chili's to it. 

Let it rest for 15 mins.

In another mixing bowl add all ingredients for batter and carefully adding water whisk the batter. 

Be careful when adding water, do not overdo it as we need the batter to be of a little thicker consistency. 

Keep it aside. 

In another mixing bowl, add boiled and peeled potatoes and all other ingredients mentioned in the stuffing section above.

Mix all ingredients well.

Take each green chili at a time and start stuffing it with the potato filling and repeat it for all other green chili's.

In a kadai heat up Oil for frying and carefully dipping the stuffed Green Chili into the batter, make sure you are coating all sides equally with the batter start releasing one by one into the oil.

Fry it until golden brown and make sure the flame is either on medium or low. We want the green chili to cook as well and not just the coating.

Remove it carefully in a plate and serve hot with chutney.