Mirchi Ka Pakoda

Mirchi Ka Pakoda can be perfectly teamed with Masala Chai (Tea) on a cold day. If you do not enjoy heat of the chilies, make pakodas with the Banana Peppers for a milder taste.

Ingredients:

• 10 straight green chilies
• Oil for frying

For Filling:

• 2 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tbsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp amchoor
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

For Batter:

• 2 cups besan (gram flour)
• 1 tbsp rice flour
• Pinch of hing (asafetida)
• ¼ tsp ajwain
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Put the gram flour in a large mixing bowl with the ingredients required for the batter. Adding water, prepare medium thick batter. Keep aside for about 15 minutes.
• Mix properly all the ingredients required for filling in a small bowl and keep aside.
• Wash and pat dry all the chilies. Make one slit along the length of the chilies from just under the stem to just above the end of the chili. If you are using the hot chilies, you can reduce some of the heat by removing the seeds. For this insert the knife at the tip of chili and pluck the thick white vein in the middle along with the seeds.

• Now fill the slit in the chili with the stuffing, filling evenly one by one and keep them aside on a plate.

• Heat the oil in a kadhai or wok on medium flame. One by one dip the stuffed chilies in batter and gently drop into hot oil and deep fry until golden. Remove to a paper towel covered plate.

• Serve with some chopped onions and /or chutney of your choice.

Do You Know?

The hotness of a chili pepper is measured in Scoville Heat Units, named after the US pharmacist Wilbur Scoville. In 1912 he invented a test to measure how hot chilies could be. On the Scoville scale, a sweet pepper scores 0, a jalapeño pepper around 3000 and a Mexican habañero a scorching 500,000.