Rains make me happy :)

The city of Hyderabad recorded 11.23 cm rain yesterday, the highest this season. Everything turned green, fresh and pure :).

Just before it poured - Grey skies and happy trees

The rains were a reason for lot of happiness and the perfect excuse for some masala chai ( spicy tea) and mirchi bhajji ( chili fritters).

Mirchi bhajji's with cheese :)

What you would need:
Long green chillies - 4 no's
Besan (Gram flour) - 1 cup
Ajwain (Carom seeds) or Jeera (Cumin seeds) - two pinch's ( use any of either, each lends a distinct flavour to the fritter)
Cheese spread - 3 to 4 tsp's
Salt to taste
Soda Bi carbonate - really tiny pinch
Water - as per requirement
Oil for deep frying the fritters

Prep:
Wash the chillies thoroughly. Slit these and remove the seed, stuff each with about a tsp of cheese spread and keep aside.

Stuffed Chillies

In a bowl, mix the gram flour, seeds, salt, soda and water. Use enough water to make the batter slightly runny.

Tip:Be careful not to add to much soda, it will cause the batter to adsorb excess oil when cooking. Also do not add to much water, else it will not cling onto the chilli.

Tip: Use a wide mouth bowl, this will enable easy dipping of the chillies, later on.

Heat oil in a large frying pan , dip the stuffed chillies completely in the batter till well covered and immediately transfer into too pan for deep frying. This should be done quickly and carefully to ensure that the chillis remain well coated with the batter,

Tip: Always slide the fritters from the side to prevent the oil from splattering.

Periodically turn the fritters to ensure even cooking, remove when golden brown.

Transfer on tissue to enable excess oil drain and serve hot with tea, along with a choice of sauces/chutneys.

Crispy golden chilli fritters, perfect for a rainy day

Cheesy Gooey goodness - Yummmm

Imagine a plate full of these piping hot chili fritters in a weather where the wind brings with it just a hint of rain spray. Sounds like heaven :).

Variation :
Feel free to get creative with the stuffing. You can use grated vegetables, boiled spicy potato, or even dry roasted spices, cottage cheese as a variation to the cheese stuffing.

If you have tried anything similar and interesting, do write in.

P.S:
Next time I will try a non-vegetarian version of the chili fritter, will keep you posted.