Stuffed Chili Pepper Fritters / Pakora

 

           Tea time without any fried snack is worthless. One can't resist the temptation of deep fried  fritters. A bowl of hot and crispy pakoras are anytime welcome. So here are some easy to make small chili pepper fritters, that are stuffed with some basic ingredients and batter fried to perfection. 

          These crispy treats are just perfect with your evening cuppa. They are also ideal as appetizers and can be enjoyed with sauce or chutney / dip of your choice. I stuffed them with some ground peanuts, sesame seeds, roasted chana dal, tamarind paste and seasonings. They did turn out real yummy. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.     

• 10-12 small size fresh red / green chili peppers
• 3 tbsp. peanuts
• 2 tbsp. sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp. roasted chana dal (Bengal gram)
• 1 tsp. tamarind paste
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. pepper powder
• oil to deep fry 

Batter - 

• 1 cup besan (gram flour)
• salt to taste
• pinch of soda bicarb
• 1 tsp. kasuri methi (crushed)
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder

         Wash the chilies and slit them lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds, if any, with a small spoon. Smear them with salt and lemon juice and keep aside for 10-15 minutes. 

          Make a thick batter with besan, salt, soda bicarb, kasuri methi, turmeric powder and required quantity of water. Set aside.

          For the filling, roast the peanuts and sesame seeds till light brown. Cool and grind along with the roasted chana dal, tamarind paste, salt, pepper powder and little water into a thick paste.

          Fill this stuffing in the slit chilies. Heat oil in a pan. Dip the chilies in the batter and deep fry them to a golden color. 

          Let the flame be low in the entire process. Drain on a kitchen towel and serve hot with sauce or any chutney/ dip.

                     Wash the chilies & slit them lengthwise. Scoop out seeds, if any and smear

                     them with salt & lemon juice. Keep aside for 10-15 minutes. 

                      For the filling, roast the peanuts & sesame seeds till light brown. Cool 

                      & grind along with the roasted chana dal, tamarind paste, salt, pepper

                      powder & little water into a thick paste.

                                   Fill this stuffing in each of the slit chilies. 

                     Make a thick batter with besan, salt, soda bicarb, kasuri methi, turmeric 

                     powder and required quantity of water. Set aside.

                    Heat oil & Dip the chilies in the batter. Deep fry them to a golden colour. 

                                   Drain on a kitchen towel.

                                 Serve hot with sauce or any chutney/ dip.

Mirchi Vada (with a twist)

          These Mirchi Vadas are stuffed green chili peppers that are batter fried. It has its origin in Rajasthan, where it is a very popular street food. It is a great tea time snack and also goes well as an appetizer with some green chutney, tamarind chutney or sauce. Generally the stuffing is that of boiled and mashed potato and it is almost similar to the Andhra style mirchi bajji, except for the stuffing.

           But I gave a slight twist to the original recipe by adding some boiled and grated eggs to the potato mix to dish out this non-veg. version of mirchi vada. They turned out simply yummy. Moreover, any leftover ones can be served as chaat or can be added to your kadhi. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.

Ingredients - 

• 7-8 fresh green chilies
• oil to deep fry
• chaat masala to sprinkle

Stuffing-

• 1 medium potato, boiled & grated
• 2 boiled eggs, grated
• 2-3 tbsp. coriander leaves, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. red chili flakes
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. roasted cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. amchur powder (dry mango powder)

Batter-

• 1 cup besan (Bengal Gram / Chickpea flour)
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. red chili powder 
• 1/4 tsp. asafoetida
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda 

            Slit the chilies and apply some salt to it and keep aside for 15 minutes. Wash well and pat dry. 

           For the stuffing, in a bowl, combine all the mentioned ingredients. Stuff the chilies with this potato-egg mix and keep aside. 

          Make a batter with all the mentioned ingredients and keep aside for 10 minutes. 

          Heat oil in a pan. Dip each of the stuffed chilies in the prepared batter and deep fry them on a med. flame to a golden color. 

           Drain on a kitchen towel. Sprinkle some chaat masala and serve them hot with green chutney or sauce.

                  Slit chilies & apply some salt to it. Keep aside for 15 minutes. Wash well 
                  and pat dry. 

                                Combine all the ingredients for the stuffing. 

                                Stuff chilies with this potato-egg mix & keep aside. 

                        Make a batter with all the ingredients & keep aside for 10 minutes. 

                     Heat oil. Dip stuffed chilies in the batter & deep fry on a med. flame to
                     a golden colour. 

                                Drain on a kitchen towel.

                      Sprinkle some chaat masala & serve hot with green chutney or sauce.