Paatti's Kitchen
Tiffins & Snacks

Authentic Mirchi Bajji Recipe (Andhra Stuffed Chilli Bajji)

Golden fried mirchi bajji split open and stuffed with chopped onion and coriander, piled on a steel plate with coconut chutney and a glass of tea
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There is a particular sound that belongs to a rainy evening in South India, and it is the hiss of batter hitting hot oil at a roadside tea stall. Mirchi bajji is the snack that sound announces: a fat green chilli, mild rather than fierce, wrapped in spiced gram flour batter and fried until the coating puffs up and cracks under your teeth. Then the vendor splits it open and packs the inside with raw onion, coriander and a squeeze of lemon, so the first bite is crisp, then soft, then sharp and tangy all at once. It has been having a real moment online, with chilli bajji and other tea-stall fritters filling Reels and Pinterest boards every time the monsoon rolls in and the regional street snacks of Andhra and Tamil Nadu get their turn in the spotlight. The good news for anyone watching those videos is that this is one of the easier street snacks to pull off at home.

Mirchi Bajji

About This Dish

Bajji belongs to the old family of Indian batter-fried snacks that also gave us pakoda and bonda, and the technique travelled with the gram flour batter itself. In Andhra Pradesh it is mirapakaya bajji, in Tamil Nadu milagai bajji, in Karnataka menasinakai bajji, and the stuffed version with onion and lemon is closely associated with the beach and bus-stand stalls of coastal Andhra and Hyderabad. The chilli used is not a hot one at all but a long, thick-walled, pale green variety grown specifically for frying, sold in Indian markets simply as bajji mirchi. What made the dish famous was the pairing of that vegetal, barely spicy chilli with a crust seasoned with carom seeds, a combination that reads as bold without actually burning anyone. The onion stuffing came later as a street-vendor flourish and is now the version most people picture.

Ingredient Notes

The chilli is the one ingredient worth shopping for carefully. Bajji mirchi, sometimes labelled bhavnagri chilli, is what you want, and if your grocer does not carry it, banana peppers or Anaheim chillies from a regular supermarket are close in size, wall thickness and mildness. Gram flour is the backbone of the batter, and the quarter cup of rice flour alongside it is not optional in spirit even if it is technically a small addition, because rice flour is what keeps the crust crisp instead of chewy. Carom seeds give bajji its distinctive savoury note and also help settle the heaviness of a fried snack, so crush them lightly between your palms before adding them to wake up the oils. A pinch of baking soda lightens the batter, and the two tablespoons of hot coconut oil stirred in at the end do more for texture than any other single step. Coconut oil is used for frying here because it suits the South Indian flavor profile and holds up well at frying heat, though ghee works if you would rather.

Mirchi Bajji cooking step

Method And Tips

Two things separate a good bajji from a greasy one, and both come down to the oil. First, the batter has to be thick enough to cling: dip a spoon in it, and if it coats the back and stays put, you are there. A thin batter slides off in the pan and leaves you with a naked chilli and a lot of burnt bits. Second, the oil temperature has to be medium, hot enough that a test drop of batter rises within a couple of seconds, but not so hot that it browns instantly and leaves the chilli raw inside. Resist the urge to poke the bajjis for the first two minutes, since that is when the crust is setting and puffing. Finally, fry everything once until pale gold, let it rest, then fry a second time for about a minute right before serving. That double fry drives off surface moisture and is the reason street bajjis stay crunchy while homemade ones often go soft.

Serving Suggestions

Serve mirchi bajji piping hot with coconut chutney or a simple tomato chutney, and a glass of strong filter coffee or masala chai on the side. They are best eaten standing in the kitchen within minutes of frying, which is exactly how they are eaten at the stalls that made them famous. Next time it rains, put the kettle on and give these a go.

Recipe

Mirchi Bajji

Large mild green chillies coated in a spiced gram flour batter and deep fried until puffed and crisp, then split and filled with a lemony onion mixture. A classic Andhra and Tamil street snack served hot with chai.

Snack South Indian Easy
Prep
15min
Cook
25min
Total
40min
Servings
4servings
Calories
245kcal

Ingredients

  • For the chillies
  • 10 large bajji chillies (mild banana peppers or anaheim chillies)
  • For the batter
  • 1.5 cups gram flour (besan)
  • 1/4 cup rice flour
  • 1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain), lightly crushed
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp hot coconut oil, for the batter
  • 1 cup water
  • For the onion stuffing
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp chaat masala
  • 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • For frying
  • 3 cups coconut oil, for deep frying

Instructions

  1. 1 Rinse the chillies and dry them completely with a kitchen towel. Any water left on the skin will make the hot oil spit.
  2. 2 Leaving the stem attached, make one long slit down each chilli from just below the stem to the tip. Do not cut all the way through, and do not cut the chilli in half.
  3. 3 Open the slit gently and scrape out the seeds and the white inner membrane with the tip of a small spoon. This is where most of the heat sits, so remove all of it for a mild bajji and leave some behind if you want a sharper bite.
  4. 4 In a wide bowl, whisk together the gram flour, rice flour, crushed carom seeds, turmeric, red chilli powder, asafoetida, baking soda and salt.
  5. 5 Pour in about half the water and mix hard with a whisk until the batter is completely smooth and free of lumps. Add the rest of the water a little at a time until the batter is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon without running off in a stream. It should be a little thicker than pancake batter.
  6. 6 Heat the 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a small pan until hot but not smoking, pour it into the batter, and whisk it in. This is what makes the crust light and crisp instead of dense. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
  7. 7 Heat the frying oil in a deep kadai or heavy pot over medium heat. Test it by dropping in a small blob of batter: it should sizzle and float up within a couple of seconds without browning instantly. If it browns at once, the oil is too hot.
  8. 8 Holding a chilli by the stem, dip it into the batter and turn it so the whole chilli is coated, including inside the slit. Lift it out, let the excess drip off for a second, and slide it into the oil away from you.
  9. 9 Fry 3 or 4 chillies at a time so the oil stays hot. Leave them undisturbed for the first 2 minutes so the coating sets and puffs, then turn them and fry until pale golden all over, about 4 to 5 minutes total. Lift them onto a rack.
  10. 10 Once all the bajjis have had their first fry, raise the heat slightly and return them to the oil in batches for a second fry of about 1 minute, until deep golden and crisp. Drain on a rack rather than paper so the bottoms stay crunchy.
  11. 11 While the bajjis cool for a few minutes, mix the chopped onion, coriander, lemon juice, chaat masala, red chilli powder and salt in a small bowl.
  12. 12 Open each bajji along its slit, spoon in a generous pinch of the onion mixture, and press it gently closed. Serve right away while the crust is still crisp.

Notes

  • Look for the long, pale green, thick-walled chillies sold as bajji mirchi or bhavnagri chillies at Indian grocers. Banana peppers and Anaheim chillies are the closest supermarket substitutes and are reliably mild.
  • The double fry is what keeps the coating crisp for more than five minutes. If you are frying for a crowd, do the first fry ahead of time and give everything its second fry just before serving.
  • If the batter thickens as it sits, loosen it with a tablespoon of water at a time. Batter that is too thin slides off the chilli and burns in the oil.
  • Skip the baking soda if you prefer, and the bajji will still work. The crust will simply be a little denser and less puffed.
  • Serve with coconut chutney, tomato chutney or plain ketchup, and a cup of strong filter coffee or masala chai.

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