1cupchanna dal / Fried gram / Buna hua channa / hurikadle
1tspCumin /Jeera
1/2tspCaraway Seeds /Ajwain / oma
2tspRed chilli powder
1/2tspChaat masala powder
small gooseberry sizeTamarind
Salt and water, as needed
For the bajji batter
1 1/2cupGram Flour /Besan
2tbspsRice flour
1/2 - 1tspRed chilli powder
a pinchTurmeric powder
a pinchAsafoetida/ hing
1/4tspCaraway Seeds /Ajwain / oma
1/2tspCooking Soda
1tbspHot oil for the batter
to tasteSalt
Instructions
Transfer all the ingredients mentioned under “for stuffing” and grind them to little coarse paste.Check for taste and add more chilli powder/ salt if needed.
Slit the green chillies vertically retaining their stem and deseed them . Don't cut them fully.
Stuff the chillies nicely and evenly such that the stufing is uniformly distributed through out .Arrange them on a plate
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, mix besan,rice flour,jeera,haldi,chilly powder,soda and salt. Add water little by little.Mix such that no lumps are formed. Batter should be slightly thicker than dosa batter consistency.Add hot oil to the batter and mix well.
In a deep pan / kadai , heat enough oil to deep fry the bajjis.
When the oil is hot ,Dip stuffed chilli into the batter and drop carefully in to hot oil.
Cook both sides until golden brown and crisp .Once done transfer the bajjis on a absorbent paper to drain excess oil.
If you want you can stop at this stage and relish your stuffed mirchi bajji hot garnished with onion , coriander etc !! But to get actual andhra cut mirchi bajji taste , i recommend to control your craving and proceed to next step ....
Cut each of fried chillis into 1 inch long pieces.
Deep fry them again in medium hot oil until they turn crispy .Drain them again on paper towels.
To serve : Finely chop onions & coriander leaves .Sprinkle some salt and few drops of lemon juice on it .Mix well. Top the double fried chilli bajji with onion mix. Sprinkle a pinch of red chilli , chat masala . And serve immediately .
Notes
If you want you can add jeera to the batter instead of ajwain .
In the above , i have used rice flour to make the bajjis little crisp.You can also add cornflour instead of that.
The batter should be right consistency.Too thin, will absorb lot of oil, if thick it will not cook properly.
Cook in medium flame to ensure the bajjis get cooked inside.Also to make it crispy.
To check the readiness of the oil, drop a small drop of batter to the oil. If the batter raises above the oil in a couple of seconds, the oil is hot enough to drop in the chillis.