In Marwari (Jodhpur in particular), we say "If you throw a stone in the air, it will land on a Snack/sweets shop" and the snacks always include Mirchi bada, Kofta , Kachori and Samosa.
Mirchi bada is the quintessential marwari snack. A description of Marwar is incomplete without mirchi badas and bandhani (tye and dye work). Passengers at Jodhpur air port wearing safari suits and carrying beat up brief cases often have bags full of mirchi badas in their carry ons. These are Jodhpur expatriates who will bring a slice of Marwar with them as they return to far flung places like Mumbai and Madras. Mirchi Bada defies economic boundaries, much like the Vada Pav in Mumbai, as the Jodhpur proletariat and the bourgeoise, crowd the same stores seeking mirchi badas as an accompaniment to their evening chai. The key flavors in a mirchi bada are the tartness, or khatai of the mashed potatoes, and the fresh flavors of the mirchi, the pepper. In Jodhpur, the best peppers come from Mathania, an agricultural community on the outskirts of Jodhpur. Almost sweet in flavor and about 5-6 inches long, these peppers dont have the sharpness of the little Indian chillies, and thus lend themselves very happily to this snack.
Recipe
Ingredients
Mirchi bada is the quintessential marwari snack. A description of Marwar is incomplete without mirchi badas and bandhani (tye and dye work). Passengers at Jodhpur air port wearing safari suits and carrying beat up brief cases often have bags full of mirchi badas in their carry ons. These are Jodhpur expatriates who will bring a slice of Marwar with them as they return to far flung places like Mumbai and Madras. Mirchi Bada defies economic boundaries, much like the Vada Pav in Mumbai, as the Jodhpur proletariat and the bourgeoise, crowd the same stores seeking mirchi badas as an accompaniment to their evening chai. The key flavors in a mirchi bada are the tartness, or khatai of the mashed potatoes, and the fresh flavors of the mirchi, the pepper. In Jodhpur, the best peppers come from Mathania, an agricultural community on the outskirts of Jodhpur. Almost sweet in flavor and about 5-6 inches long, these peppers dont have the sharpness of the little Indian chillies, and thus lend themselves very happily to this snack.
Recipe
Ingredients
Four medium sized potatoes
Two cups Besan
Two teaspoons salt
Two teaspoons red chilli powder
Two teaspoons cumin seeds
Two teaspoons cumin seeds
Two pinches of hing
Oil for frying
Long Green chillies 15
Process
Process
Boil and peel potatoes and mash. In a pan on a medium flame, add one tablespoon of oil, heat and put cumin seeds and hing and after sputtering, put mashed potatoes. Turn the stove off. Add one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of cumin seeds.
Mix all and make 15 balls of the mixture. Slit the chillies or peppers vertically without removing the top caps (or tails if you will). In a bowl of boiling water, dip the pepper and cover with a lid, then switch the stove off . After two minutes take the peppers out and drain the water. Keep them on a napkin or a cloth to reduce the moisture. Prepare the batter of besan adding salt, chilli powder, cuminseeds, hing and water.Mix well with the help of a whisker so that there are no lumps in the batter. The batter should have the same consistency as a Kofta batter. Fill the potato stuffing inside the slit and around the chillies. Fill all the chillies. Now dip these stuffed chillies in the besan batter and holding them with the cap, gently slide them into the kadahi and deep fry .
Drain them well and serve with your favourite chutney/ketchup.
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