Mirchi bajji recipe | Mirapakaya bajji | How to make stuffed mirchi bajji

Mirchi bajji are a popular South Indian street food made by frying battered green chilies. These are also called as mirapakaya bajji in telugu, milagai bajji in tamil & chilli bajji in general. Mirchi translates to chilies and bajji to deep fried fritters made with gram flour. There are a variety of bajji made in most South Indian households & mirchi bajji is one of the most loved by South Indians.

These are served as a tea time snack with some masala tea, regular tea or coffee. Usually no condiment like a chutney is served with them as they are hot on their own & don’t need anything.

Stuffed mirchi bajji are much popular in the states of Andhra pradesh and Karnataka. Most people enjoy these during the monsoons.

In north Karnataka region, these are served with puffed rice upma called as mandakki oggarne also called as borugula upma (uggani) in andhra.

To make mirchi bajji, green chilies are dipped in gram flour batter and crisp fried to perfection. Then these are stuffed with a fresh cut lemon onion mixture and served hot.

Apart from the mirchi bajji, Bread pakora, Raw banana bajji, aloo/ Potato bajji, Crispy onion pakoda, punugulu, vada, masala vada or mixed dal vada are some of the other popular south Indian street foods.

Why homemade?

Mirchi bajji made at home can be made with the best quality ingredients especially oil. Though this is a most common snack available we never buy from outside as the oil is reused and we really do not know what goes into making of these.

There are a few variations sold on the streets. I am sharing the recipe which we commonly make at home. Here are the tips that will be of great help if you are trying to make mirchi bajji at home for the first time.

Tips to make mirchi bajji

Besan or gram flour: Good quality gram flour is the key to aromatic mirchi bajji. Do not use stale or rancid smelling besan as it tastes bitter. Most traditional homes mill the chana dal to flour and use it as the bajji tastes much better with fresh flour.

Consistency of batter is the next important thing to get crisp and perfect bajji. The consistency should be neither too thick nor too thin. It must be of medium thick consistency, yet not runny.

If the batter is runny then the bajji will turn out soft and will soak up lot of oil. A lot of batter drips as well. If the batter is too thick then the batter will not hold on to the chilli well. The mirchi bajji will turn hard.

Stuffing: I do not stuff the chilies before frying as the stuffings may splatter while frying. So I do the stuffing after frying. This is the way we always do at home.

Preparing the chilies

Please ensure this step is done carefully otherwise the seeds from the chili can burst in oil while frying.

1. Rinse them well and wipe off with a clean cloth.
2. Using a knife slit open the chilli length wise and remove all the seeds with the help of the knife.
3. Then when you dip the chilies in batter ensure the cut open side is sealed with batter otherwise oil will enter the slit.
4. Once fried, cut open and stuff the mirchi bajji with onions, lemon juice, chilies and coriander leaves.

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Mirchi bajji or mirapakaya bajji recipe

Mirchi bajji recipe | Mirapakaya bajji

Mirchi bajji recipe – Andhra style mirapakaya bajji are a popular street food made by batter frying the green chilies and then stuffing them with fresh cut onions & lemon juice mixture. These are served as a snack or as a side with a meal.

Prep Time5 minutes

Cook Time15 minutes

Total Time20 minutes

Servings6 mirchi bajji

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

For mirapakaya bajji

• 6 bhajji mirchi (green chilies,plump, long, less spicy)
• ¾ cup besan or gram flour or sengapindi
• 1 to 1 ½ tbsp corn flour or semolina or rice flour (optional)
• Salt to taste
• ½ tsp ajwain or carom seeds or vaamu
• ¼ tsp ginger garlic paste (optional)
• ¼ tsp red chili powder (optional)
• ¼ tsp turmeric or haldi
• 1 Pinch cooking soda (if you skip this they will not puff)
• Oil for deep frying

Stuffing (optional) for chilli bajji

• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves chopped
• Salt to taste
• 1 Green chili chopped
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• red chili powder as needed (optional)

How to make the recipe

Preparation for mirchi bajji or mirapakaya bajji

• Make sure you use less spicy chilies. Rinse the chilies. Wipe dry with a clean cloth or kitchen tissues. 
• Slit them in the center length wise, deseed and set aside. If any seeds are left inside they may burst in oil.
• Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.
• Mix flour, salt, soda, turmeric, red chili powder, ginger garlic paste & ajwain thoroughly in a bowl.
• Pour water little by little to get the right consistency, not thin and not too thick. The batter should just coat the chili when it is dunked in the batter. Too thin batter will begin to drip off from the chilies .Too thick will not cling on to the chilies. Once you finish mixing, just whisk 4 to 5 times with a fork on a medium speed.

Making mirchi bajji

• Check if the oil is hot enough by dropping a small portion of the batter to the hot oil. If it is ready, the batter will rise immediately without browning. Reduce the flame to medium. 
• Dip the chilies completely in the batter and coat them well.
• Gently slide it in hot oil. Fry till they turn golden and crisp on a medium flame. Transfer them on to a kitchen tissue.
• Optional step for extra crispness – Once you finish frying all, revert them back to the hot oil. Fry them again for 1 to 2 mins, to keep them crispy for longer time.

Stuffing the mirchi bajji

• Mix together onions, chilies, red chilli powder (optional) and coriander leaves. Sprinkle some lemon juice. Mix all of them.
• Take a small spoon or knife and open up the slit gently. Stuff all of them as desired with the onion & chilies.
• Serve mirchi bajji immediately with a cup of tea.

NUTRITION

Calories: 301kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 708mg | Potassium: 307mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 15.4mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1.6mg

Notes

Frying chilli bajji on a high flame will not cook the chilli. So ensure they are fried on a medium heat.

Preparation for mirchi bajji recipe

1. Rinse green chilies and make a slit and remove the seeds completely. Begin to heat oil on a medium flame before you start making the batter.

2. Add besan, corn flour, salt, ginger garlic paste, turmeric, ajwain, red chili powder and soda to a wide bowl.

3. Make a batter adding just enough water to make a neither too thick nor too thin batter. Whisk it gently 4 to 5 times for the soda to act well. Do not over do. After you beat the batter, you can add more water if needed and bring it to the correct consistency.

This is the consistency of the batter – moderately thick. I had also made bannana bajji when I made this. So showing you the pic of banana dipped in batter.

How to make mirchi bajji recipe

4. Check if the oil is hot enough by dropping little batter in the oil, it floats if the oil is hot enough. Dip the green chili in the batter completely. We usually sweep off the excess batter on one side and gently slide to the hot oil.

5. Fry till golden on a medium flame. If needed you can refry them to keep them crunchy for longer.

6. Mix together onions, lemon and coriander leaves.

Slit the mirchi bajji and stuff them. Serve mirchi bajji hot or warm.