Stuffed green chilies - Bharwan mirchi

The past week has been a big blob with all boundaries of day and night merged together. It has been hectic at work and I am as sleep deprived as can be. I have loads of catching up to do, didn't get to spend any time with DD or BH over the weekend as they tended to themselves, didn't make my weekend calls to catch up on folks back in India and didn't get to visit many of my favorite blogs and check out what they have been cooking. But then, the new week is a new beginning and so far seems to be sane enough that I will be able to get back to all my other stuff outside of work too :-).

What I rediscovered over this 'no time for anything else' week and weekend was that cooking still helps me stay grounded and actually massages my tired bones and nerves, my kitchen is a place I find myself at peace. So I did cook, infact we had guests over on Saturday for dinner, and that was very pleasantly distracting as I took some time off from gaping at my machine or sticking the phone to my ears. I am glad I am pretty good at what I love to do, think about my poor family if I was a wretched cook and still insisted on cooking no matter what :-)

I told you about the hot peppers that have been growing in my backyard, right? We already made Mirchi ka Salan twice as that is what DD wants every time we have those mirchis harvested :-). So, I called dibs on the 3rd round and sneaked them into this other favorite of ours. I first tasted this in one of my Marathi friend's lunch box, she had got one single piece to go with her rice and after gobbling up the whole thing I was still craving for more and she had to part with her secret recipe to keep me away from her lunch box next time ;-). I have seen a few versions of the Bharwan mirchi and have also tweaked the original recipe I got originally to suit my taste and here is a wonderful tasting besan stuffed green chili.

We got the sapling labelled 'hot peppers' and now that I have seen them full grown they are neither Jalapeno nor Anaheim but have thick skin, moderately hot and stand cooking well.

Almost always, when we visit South Indian restaurants, I end up ordering the cut mirchi platter for an appetizer. If you do not know what I am talking about, it is the hot chilies, dipped in a batter of basan & spices, deep fried in oil, cut in bite sized pieces, stuffed with more spices and raw onion and deep fried again and served with chopped onions and lemon wedges :-), ok, ok I will come back with that recipe another time. Notice the 'double deep fry' in there? That is not so good for any of us on a regular basis, right? So I always lean towards other options where possible and you can enjoy the tangy stuffed mirchi below just like you would a cut mirchi platter but definitely with lesser oil. I call this my 'reversed mirchi bajjis' as the basan is stuffed inside the jacket of the chilies.

What do you need to make basan stuffed green chilies?
12 green chilies (Anaheim or Jalapeno or other similarly thicker skinned variety)
1.5 cups besan
1 Tsp mustard
3-4 curry leaves - chopped small
2 Tbslp oil
Stuffing:
1/4 Tsp turmeric powder
5 Tblsp  oil
3/4 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1/8 Tsp asafoetida
2 Tblsp lemon juice
2 Tblsp cilantro/coriander leaves - chopped fine

Garden fresh green chilies, with some grape tomatoes thrown in for color

How do you make basan stuffed chilies? 

• Wash, pat dry the chilies, remove the stem ends and make a vertical slit from top to bottom without cutting the chili. 
• De-seed the chilies and keep aside. 
• Mix all the stuffing ingredients in a wide plate except oil until they are well combined. 

• Add oil and make a soft, crumbly mixture, this should stay in shape when molded. 
• Take spoonfuls of stuffing and stuff them into the chilies, be generous on the stuffing as it helps to mellow down the hot chilies. 

• Heat remaining 2 Tblsp of oil in a wide pan, add mustard and chopped curry leaves. Let the mustard sizzle.
• Arrange the stuffed chilies in a single layer, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. 

• Open, turn the chilies over, cover and continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes until the chilies wilt and the basan cooks completely. 

• Serve warm. 

Notes: 

• The recipe I got from my friend adds a Tsp of coriander powder and 1/2 Tsp amchoor powder. I skipped the coriander completely and use the lemon as it helps build moisture and potentially reduces the oil used. 

• These mirchis need to cook in a slow process - low heat and covered pan are key to a good stuffed mirchi. 
• Low heat also ensures basan cooks thoroughly but not get burnt and the chilies turn lighter green in color.

• Serve as a snack with some chopped onion and a few drops of lemon juice squeezed on top. 

Baalaka (Dried, stuffed green chilies) - Preserved Summer flavors

When we moved to the Pacific NW, the most common reaction I heard from everyone (residents and people that had only visited the area for a week or less) was that it would rain 'all the time'. No stranger to different climates having lived in various parts of the country, weather was not a deterrent for me, infact the moderate temperatures were a welcome change from the harsh winters and hot summers we lived in before coming here.

We did move and I just fell in love with the beautiful mountain range, majestically tall ever greens and everything else. For us as a family, it was a much exciting phase as BH stopped travelling  and we would have him home for dinner every evening instead of the after dinner before bedtime calls from hotel rooms. As we settled in, one thing was in the back of my mind pertaining to the weather, from what I had heard from people I assumed there was no expectation of a decent Summer and hence had to give up my Summer activities of making and storing the traditional papads and other goodies :-). But mother nature has been graciously supporting my every project so far and I have no complaints. We have been having really warm weather and bright Sunshine though with some gray skies and cloudy days thrown in between for good measure. I didn't want to extend my good fortune too much this season and started small and glad I did it.

Couple of weeks back, I found some really fresh Thai chilies in my local grocery store and as we were looking up weather for weekend outings I knew it was  going to be rain free for a while atleast. So I brought home a bag of those green chilies and got to make the delicious Balakada Menasinakayi :-), there are 2 versions of this that I am aware of. One in which the green chilies are soaked in salted buttermilk for 3 days to marinate and then spread in the Sun to dry up, the other is where we stuff roasted fenugreek powder and salt into the slit green chilies and let it dry until it is crunchy. I went with the second one because I love the fenugreek flavor in these stuffed, dried chilies and also was not sure if the bright weather will hold up for another week after   I had a chance to marinate them in buttermilk.

In Mysore, I used to go with Anna on his scooter to the vegetable market in December and bring those long winter chilies especially for baalaka. Nammamma would make the fenugreek powder and I would stuff the chilies and help dry it. I don't know when this practice started, nammamma always made this in December when Sun would shine brightly in the mornings even though it was kind of chilly as opposed to the other Happala(Papads) & Sandige(also called vadiyaalu in Telugu these are preserved fryums you will find in Indian households made with different ingredients that can be taken out any time you desire and fried in oil for a yummy, crunchy side for your meal) made typically in Summer.

For those of you familiar with project management when things are estimated at the beginning of work we have two measures - one is effort (actual time without break it would take to complete the work) and second is duration (period it will take based on the availability of resources). Similarly, this process of making the dried, stuffed chilies will take 4 days if you have good temperature and sunshine but the duration might actually extend (as it did in my case) if the heat is not sufficient.

Although BH says we should buy these from the stores instead of making it at home, I know it tastes better this way and he agrees with it. It is just a small way of mine to preserve not only the chilies for the year but also a tradition for as long as I can.   DD loves these fried, stuffed chilies with her mosaranna (yogurt rice).

What do you need to make dried, stuffed chilies?
50 fresh green chilies
1/4 cup methi seeds
1/8 cup salt (adjust to taste based on your salt)
1/2 Tsp amchoor powder (optional)

How do you make dried, stuffed chilies? 

• Wash and pat dry completely all the chilies.
• With a sharp knife, make a vertical slit in the chilies from top to bottom taking care not to separate the chili completely.
• Dry roast fenugreek seeds on medium heat until they are pink and start to pop, let cool and grind to a fine powder. 
• Mix the salt, fenugreek powder and amchoor powder (if using) homogeneously. 

• Fill the slit chilies generously with this powder, arrange them in a single layer on cookie sheets or wide plates. 

• Let it sun dry (preferred temp: above 75F) for atleast 4 days or until the chilies turn crisp. 

• Store in air tight containers or ziplock bags. 

How do you use dried, stuffed chilies? 

• Heat oil for deep frying, put 4-5 chilies (depending on the size of your pan) and fry until the chilies turn a dark brown.
• Enjoy with hot rice and dal or yogurt rice. 

• You can also use these fried yummies in seasoning.

Chilies in various stages of preparation and drying here..

Notes: 

• I used amchoor powder to give a slight tangy flavor, it is completely acceptable to skip this ingredient. 
• Use a small spoon to fill the chilies and wear gloves if you are not chili hear tolerant. 
• Dip your hands in buttermilk if you get reduce the burning sensation from handling the chilies.
• Salt in the stuffing oozes moisture and helps hold the stuffing intact, make sure your hands and any spoons you use are dry. 
• When you hold a dried chili, it should feel crispy and brittle to touch without any moisture. Make sure it reaches this stage before storing it away otherwise you face the risk of it turning moldy. 
• Frying until the chilies turn deep brown reduces the spice level.