Stuffed Jalapano Peppers / Mirchi Pakoda

I love stuffed vegetables and stuffed Jalapanos is such an exotic combination, i just love them ! :)

Let's collect Ingredients:

4-5 Big Jalapenos
Oil for deep frying

Basic Batter:

1&1/2 cups Gram flour (Besan)
1/2 tsp paprika
A pinch baking soda
Salt to taste
3/4 to 1 cup water

Potato Filling:

2-3 Potatoes, boiled
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ginger, grated
1/2 tsp garlic, grated
1/2 tsp Green chilly, crushed*
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam Masala
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp amchur (mango Powder)
2 tbsp Gram Flour
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil

Let's prepare Potato filling first:

1. Mash the potatoes well.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan.
3. Add Cumin Seeds, let them splutter.
4. Add Gram flour, ginger, garlic. and chilly paste*.
5. Quickly add all the dry spices and turn off the gas.
6. Mix this with the Potatoes and Mix well and keep aside.

Let's assemble the Pakodas:

1. Wash the Jalapenos well and dry them.
2. Slit them length wise making sure not to cut it in half.
3. Remove some or all the seeds from inside. (This is optional, if you can take the heat then skip this step, I removed all the seeds as we don't eat that spicy)
4. Fill each jalapeno with the Potato filling and keep aside.

Let's prepare the Batter for Pakodas:

1. Mix salt, paprika, coriander leaves together in a bowl.
2. Add the baking soda in 1/2 cup of water and mix well.
3. Add this 1/2 cup of water with the soda to the besan mix.
4. Mix in the rest of the water to make a smooth batter. The batter should be thick enough to coat the jalapenos. Make sure not to make it too liquid-like / runny.

Let’s start cooking:

1. Heat the oil for deep frying.
2. Once hot add about 1 tbsp of the hot oil to the batter and mix the batter well.
3. Take the Jalapeno, dip in the batter, coat well.
4. Slowly drop it in the hot oil, and fry it on medium temperature, to make the sure it’s cooked through inside.
5. Once it is golden brown in color, remove and drain on paper to remove excess oil.

Tips:

You can also add the chopped onions and fresh coriander leaves in Potato filling if you like, I didn't.
Make the Batter just before you are starting to fry them.

*You can skip adding chilies in Potato filling if you think variety of Jalapenos you have are very spicy, you can play around with the dry masalas to suit your taste.