Chilly Bhaji / Mirchi Bhaji / Mulaku Bhaji Recipe.
Bhajis are similar to fritters. They are one of the easy to make yummy snacks. We make it in the evenings and also we get to see in Indian streets, on roadsides, exhibitions, on beach sides, restaurants etc. It is very famous as street food in South India. We can see long queues on roads to buy this Chilly Bhaji. You can have it as snack or appetizer or as a starter before the main course. You can eat it alone also without any accompaniments.. During the monsoon and rainy seasons, bhajis serve as a comfort food. I have also made Bread Bhaji recently that I will post later.
Bjajis are an inevitable dish of Maharashtrians. We can see many kinds of bhajis not only in Kerala, but also in some other Indian states like, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It is generally served with a hot cup of coffee or tea.
My husband love this bhaji since it’s made with chillies. My impression on this snack got totally changed once I had this for the first time some years back. I thought this Chilly Bhaji would be so hot and spicy as it is made of chilly itself, though I love little hot and spicy snacks. But this feeling of mine got changed later once I had this and slowly started loving it.
The chillies we use here for making this snack is not the regular chillies we use in our curries. It’s comparatively lesser in hot and bigger in size. I have used the long green chillies here. You can use any kind of big chillies. These chillies you can find in Indian grocery stores. Whenever I see fresh chillies of this kind. Immediately I grab those for making this chilly bhajis for snack. If you like to give to your kids. Immediately keep a glass of water too near to the chilly bhaji plate as a precaution, though it’s not that hot. 😉
Make the batter with Gram Flour or besan flour / chick pea flour and rice flour, then dip chillies in this besan flour mixture, deep fry in hot oil. You can make many bjhjis, especially Onion, potato or plantain Bhajis by using the same batter. Some people use special kind of stuffing with potato mixture to make Stuffed Chilly Bhaji. I will add that recipe later.. People make many kinds of Chilly Bhajis.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 3
Ingredients for Making Mulaku Bhaji:
8 long green chillies
1 cup Gram Flour
¼ to ½ cup Rice Flour
1 tsp. Red Chilly Powder
¼ tsp. Amchur Powder
A pinch of Baking Soda
2 tsp. Salt
¼ to ½ cup of Water
Here goes the recipe of Chilly Bhaji / Mirch Bhaji..
How to Make Chilly Bhaji:
Wash all chillies in clear running water and pat dry it. Make a slit vertically on the middle of all peppers, keeping the ends intact. Remove the seeds and its cord if you prefer it that way. Set it aside. Take all the equipments required to make Chilly Bhajis. Arrange a kitchen tissue on a plate.
Take a bowl and add all ingredients except water and mix it with a spoon. Add water little by little and whisk it well till you get the right consistency. The batter should be thick and flowing. See my picture in the step by step section.
Heat oil in a wide pan. Take one chilly and dip in the bhaji batter mix by making sure the chillies are coated well with batter both inside and outside. Slide these well coated chillies immediately into the hot oil. Let it cook till the frying noise stops. Now flip it and fry the other side too till you get golden colour. When it is done, drain it and remove it with tongs to a kitchen towel. Continue the process with the rest of the chillies.
Delicious and tempting Chilli Bhajies are ready to be served with ketch up and coriander chutney and with a hot cup of tea.
My Recipe Notes on Mirchi Bhaji:
1. Use only blemish free chillies.
2. If your chillies are not that hot, let the seeds remain there. Otherwise remove it. If you can handle it without any problem, then let the seeds be there. To be on the safe side, it’s better to wear gloves while removing seeds.
3. You should be very careful while you make batter for making Chilly Bhaji. It should not be too thin or not too thick. Please check the picture I have given in this post showing its consistency here.
4. Adding rice flour or semolina will make bhajis little crisp.
5. The oil should be hot enough to make these Chiily Bhajis, otherwise bhajis will absorb more oil. To test the temperature of oil, put one or two drops of batter into the oil. If it pops up immediately to the surface of the oil, it’s the right temperature to make Chilly Bhajis.
6. Keep the flame always on low medium.
7. You can add carom seeds if you prefer its taste.
