Mullaku Bhajji / Chilly Bhajji / Mirchi Bhajji / Mirchi Pakoda with Yogurt Dip

Chilly bhajji reminds me of Pala Jubilee perunnal. Its the biggest of the carnival at the small town Pala. I remember Baby uncle taking all little ones in his car to take a round of the town to see the decorations. He never let the doors open because of the fear of atleast one of us gone missing in the crowd.

Since he had taken us late in the night, most vendors had already closed their shops and so the only cart vendor we could get hold of was making chilly bhajji and uncle bought us those hot bhajjis. Thats when I first tasted these bhajjis.

Later when I married Jacob and during our bangalore days we used to have lots of them whenever we would go out and pass by a bhajji vendor. To refresh those memories I thought of making these when I got hold of those chillies. And we just loved having it with hot chai even though we turned all red and our noses started running cause of all the heat.

Ingredients

1. 6-8 Chillies (Large light green chillies)
2. 1 1/2 cups of Chick pea flour /Besan
3. 1/2 tsp of Red chilly powder
4. A pinch of Asafoetida
5. 1/2 tsp of Turmeric powder
6. Salt to taste
7. Water as needed
8. Oil for frying

For the yogurt dip

1. 1/2 cup of yogurt
2. 1 tsp of chopped cilantro leaves
3. 1/4 tsp of roasted cumin powder
4. A pinch of chilly powder
5. Salt to taste

Method

• Wash and pat dry the chillies. Slit it length wise and remove the seeds from it.
• In a bowl, add ingredients 2-6. Give it a mix to spread the ingredients evenly.
• Now slowly add water little by little to form a batter not too thin nor too thick but consistent enough to coat the chillies. 
• In a pan, heat the oil for frying the chillies. Once the oil is hot, turn it to medium high heat.
• Dip the chillies in the chick peas flour batter and drop it in the hot oil carefully. Fry it untill it turns golden brown in colour. Remove it on to a plate lined with paper towels to drain off excess oil.
• Combine all the ingredients listed under the making of yogurt dip in a bowl.
• Serve the bhajjis hot with yogurt dip paired with hot tea/coffee.

Tips

1. Oiling your hands while working with the chillies (removing the seeds from it), will help avoid burning of your hands.
2. The batter shouldn't be too runny that it does not coat the chillies nor should it be too thick that it takes long time to get cooked.
3. You may also like to stuff the batter inside the chilly before frying.