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Today we stop at Rajasthan a state that I hope to visit soon not just because of the food which is a splendid collection of colourful, spicy and unique dishes but because of its inhabitants and their rich culture.
As a child, in my nomadic lifestyle, we were at Akola, Maharashtra. Our neighbours were Marwadis, a joint family their lifestyle amazed me. I loved watching how the old lady called Dadiji though very old was very sweet and saw to it that we were invited for every ”Teej Towhar” not only for food but the earlier day to apply mehendi, mehendi being the most important ritual. They used to draw the designs not with the mehendi cone but with matchsticks and the designs were breathtakingly beautiful. Thin lines and weaves it was really magic the way they did the job.
Another strange thing was the vessels were washed suka. That means the vessels were dampened and then were scrubbed with ash. With a dry cloth, they were wiped clean of all residues. Then one more cloth finished all the rest of the cleaning. This way the water used was minimal.
Food, like I said is delicious Rajasthani cooking was influenced by both the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this arid region.
Food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred. Because of the lack of leafy green vegetables, the use of
lentils, pulses, legumes milk, curd and buttermilk in place of the water in
the gravy marks the essentials of Rajasthani cuisine. To decrease the use
of water in this desert state they use a lot of milk and milk products to cook.
lentils, pulses, legumes milk, curd and buttermilk in place of the water in
the gravy marks the essentials of Rajasthani cuisine. To decrease the use
of water in this desert state they use a lot of milk and milk products to cook.
Originating for the Marwar region of the state is the concept Marwari Bhojnalaya or vegetarian restaurants, today found in many parts of India, which offer vegetarian food of the Marwari people.
Rajasthan is known for not only its snacks like Bikaneri Bhujia, Mirchi Bada and Pyaaj Kachori but also for dishes like Bajre ki roti (millet bread) and Lashun ki chutney (hot garlic paste), Mawa Kachori from Jodhpur, Alwar ka mawa, Malpauas, let’s not forget dal bati churma ………………
The Rajput clan was always known to enjoy a hearty hunt (shikar) and the royal chefs (Khansamas) would delicately cook the day’s capture and incorporate the dish into the night menu. The women of the household never involved themselves in cooking the meat which they considered impure.
Rajasthan Food is an experience to be cherished.
I had forgotten all about Rajasthan and the food there. The memories of my childhood were there but not about the food that I had at Dadaji’s place. Vaishali….. reminded me of foods that I have loved and since then I have been trying food from Rajasthan at home and it's all well liked. Thanks, Vaishali you are the bestest!!( Sorry about the Hinglish Princy)!
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| Mirchi Bada~Indian State Rajasthan |
So how did Vaishali remind me? She had come down here to Goa and she followed her goodies bag! She had come with lotus stems, and these chillies. She went to make Nadru Monje and these stuffed mirchi bahjias!! Do I have to tell you how they tasted? Take a look and eat with your eyes!!!
Mirchi Bada
Indian
State: Rajasthan
State: Rajasthan
Recipe
Source:Ribbon's to Pasta
Source:Ribbon's to Pasta
Cooking
Time-30-40 minutes
Time-30-40 minutes
Ingredients:
Stuffing:
- 7-8 pcs Rajasthani Green Chilli (Mirchi), deseeded
- 4 Potatoes, boiled, mashed
- ½ teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh dhania/ coriander leaves, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon dhania/ coriander powder
- 2 pinch hing/asafoetida
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon amchoor/dry mango powder
- 1 tablespoon saunf/Fennel seeds, roasted, coarsely ground
Batter:
- 2 cup gram flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- A pinch of cooking soda or baking powder
- Oil to deep fry
Method:
For Stuffing:
- Mash the boiled potatoes using a potato masher.
- Heat about a 2-3 teaspoon oil jeera. Once the jeera splutters add saunf and hing.
- Add the mashed potato, chopped green chilli, red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, and amchoor powder and mix well.
- Fry the potato mixture well. You will get a delicious aroma.
- Add the coriander and mix again. Cool.
For
batter:
batter:
- In a bowl big enough for you to dip the chillies and your fingers add gram flour, add salt, red chilli powder, cooking soda and water and mix well, to prepare a thick batter.
- Mix well.
To make the bhajis:
- In a kadhai heat oil for frying.
- Make a slit the green chillies/mirchis lengthwise but do not break the stalk and scoop out the seeds from them.
- Fill the chillies with the potato mixture.
- Dip and coat each stuffed green chilli with the batter, and deep fry them in the heated oil.
- Cook on medium flame to ensure chillies are cooked from the inside and crisp and brown from the outside.
- Remove the fried chillies on an absorbent paper and transfer them to a serving plate.
- Serve hot with lasun chutney
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The Pumpkin Farm says
it is burning hot in mumbai and yet i am tempted to dig into this bada, this looks beautiful
Priya Suresh says
Omg, those stuffed mirchis are just torturing me, can have them without any hesitation..Irresistible they are.
Nivedhanams Sowmya says
so yummy!! can have it with chai!
Varadas Kitchen says
Wow! Have not had these for such a long time. They are so well done, brown and crispy.
vaishali sabnani says
Ah..you took me back to some good times...thanks dear for the kind words.I am so glad that we could work together like this, wish we get more opportunities.
Srivalli says
Archana, you have got it done so well!..I simply love this...the outer layer seem to have turned out so nice and crispy as well..
Pavani N says
Those stuffed mirchi looks so spicy, tempting and delicious.
Harini-Jaya R says
Those stuffed mirchis look so tempting. Good write up too.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Those mirchis look so good! And such a lovely description of your childhood 🙂
Usha says
I love mirchi bada or mirchi bahhi as we call it in the South.
Your cleaning memories reminded me of my neighbor. She too is marwadi but moving to Hyderabad made her very liberal using hte water. She had lot of domestic help to clean the house but she would clean the house along with the domestic help; from cleaning the floors to walls to washing clothes. When say wash the walls, they literally use to scrub all the walls at least once a week. And I always wonder how she survived in Rajasthan with so little water with her cleaning habits.
Chef Mireille says
these look mouthwatering and loved the intro
Manjula Bharath says
wow such an delicious bharwa mirchi bada , my all time fav from my native 🙂 I loved reading your experience and child hood memories from this state 🙂
Jayanthi Padmanabhan says
potato stuffed mirchi bajjis are my kind of snack. i love mirchi bajjis of any kind.. irresistable