Rajasthani Mirchi Bada

Here I come with another of childhood favourite straight from the lovely land of Rajasthan – Mirchi Bada. In fact to be precise, this is Jodhpur speciality (Jodhpur is a much known city in the state of Rajasthan); it is known popularly that you can’t get that delicious Mirchi Bada/Vada any were else – hence it is also famous as Jodhpuri Mirchi Bada. In a nutshell, Mirchi Bada is a real lip-smacking snack which is made up of big green chillies/jalapeños (Mirchi is the Hindi word for Chilli). A spicy flavoursome potato filling is stuffed in the chillies and covering the chillies as well ; and finally covering with a smooth batter made from chickpea flour (Besan).

I am a spicy person, who believes spice is the way of life 😊. I thoroughly enjoy pakoras, vadas, chaats and all the so called spicy food; and if it is rainy or winters then I can have them any time😉. This year I was terribly missing our Rajasthani Mirchi Bada and so this weekend I bought the big chillies/Jalapenos. I was keen on preparing the these Badas at home but I was little bit worried about the required smooth outer texture of the Mirch Bada. But when I finally made them, they were just like any of the relevant shops in Rajasthan – perfect spice, smooth texture and totally awesome 😋😋

So let’s now prepare Mirchi Bada with the sole aim of enjoying the winters 😉

The ingredients for making Mirchi Bada are :

1. Big Green Chilli / Jalapeños : 7
2. Potato : 4 (boiled)
3. Green chilli : 1 (finely chopped)
4. Ginger : 1/4 tsp
5. Coriander Powder : 1 tsp
6. Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp
7. Dried Mango Powder (Amchur) : 3/4 tsp
8. Garam Masala : 1/2 tsp
9. Chat Masala : 1/2 tsp
10. Cumin (Jeera) : 1/2 tsp
11. Asafoetida (Hing) : a pinch
12. Salt : to taste
13. Oil : 1 tsp

The ingredients for making batter are :

1. Chickpea flour (Gram flour/Besan) : 1 cup
2. Red Chilli Powder : 1/2 tsp
3. Turmeric Powder : 1/8 tsp
4. Salt : to taste
5. Baking soda : a pinch

Method for making the Stuffing for Mirchi Bada :

Take the boiled potatoes and mash them well. Heat oil in a pan, and temper with asafoetida, cumin seeds. Then add green chilli, ginger, mashed potatoes, red chilli powder, salt, coriander powder, dried mango powder, garam masala and sauté the mixture for 3-4 minutes. Switch off the flame, add chat masala powder and again mix well.

The stuffing for Mirchi Bada is ready !

Method for making Batter :

Take a big bowl. Put chickpea flour, salt, red chilli powder and baking soda in this bowl. Add water as required to get a smooth batter (neither too thick nor too thin). Whisk the batter well and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

The batter is ready to roll !

Method for making the Mirchi Bada :

Firstly wash and wipe the green chillies/Jalapenos . Then slit them lengthwise and scoop out the seeds from them.

Fill all the green chillies tightly with the prepared potato stuffing; cover the whole chilli with the stuffing as well.

Heat the oil in a wok on a medium flame. Dip and coat the stuffed green chillies with batter so that batter covers them evenly. Now deep fry on medium flame until they become golden brown in colour.

Your sumptuous, spicy Mirchi Bada is ready to be enjoyed. Serve these scrumptious, spicy Mirchi Bada with tamarind chutney, coriander chutney or enjoy them alone with tea/coffee.

Insider Tips / Finer Points :

• You may adjust the spices according to your taste buds.

• Deep fry them on medium flame.

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