Rajasthani Mirchi Wada

“Potatoes” one thing that I can have over and over… In brekkie, lunch, dinner or in-between the meals ;) And if you give me a bag of baby potatoes, you’ll surely find me dancing like a kid! I have plenty of stories to share on this root-veggie but the one that I can’t ever forget in my life is… a story of ‘Ratan’ :)

Fair skin, two tight ponytails with red ribbons, no expressions on face yet mysteriously-keen eye-sights… I many times observed a girl during Maths classes in std. 12th! Never could figure out why she never talked to anyone… What was the reason behind her staying so calm, almost speechless? Days passed and things made me more curious to know about that girl! I always used to get busy during last 15 mins in examination rooms, jotting down all possible bluffs for unattended questions… and by chance, if I see her for a micro-second, she used to observe meditation in last mins!!! I always wondered whether she didn’t know the answers or she was a way too scholar, completing it before time :)
And somehow, I got in touch with her… How??? Keep reading…

I was fond of going to veggie market with mum whenever I would take a break from reading! And there I saw one potato-onion seller, whose face I found familiar… Later that evening, I realized he was that girl’s dad and he used to drop her at classes on his bicycle! I went to veggie market right on the next day and asked him if he was that mystery-girl’s dad (Ohh yes, I continued calling her a mystery girl only)!!!

And he just smiled… I felt he didn’t feel comfortable saying anything to me and then I didn’t insist…
We got our results and I found she secured 94% in board exams and was all set for Medicines. Unfortunately, system didn’t let her get an admission on basis of reserved quota and she (unoptionally) signed up for general one with fees in lakhs :(

As my mum had interacted with her dad a couple of times so she came to know they needed some sort of financial help for admission… Life is beautiful, I got a chance to know her more!
She was a hindi-medium student attending all gujarati classes! She was living in a small hut (literally soil floored one)… with one room, consider it a kitchen or a living room or a bedroom! Met her 2 times at my place but she refused to come to my home for the 3rd time saying “me aise ghar me kabhi rahi nahi hoon na”… I got her reason but never will be able to trace the feelings! And then I never saw her again…

Got the news after graduation that she started internship along with IAS exam preparation… And after a few months, read in newspaper that she was one of those 13 students from Gujarat who cleared IAS that year! I was so happy to read that… happiness that can’t be expressed in words!!!

Last time when I went to India, I visited her dad in market and he told me happily that she got posting in North-India with an unbelievably high package and she got married 6 months back only… with an IIM scholar! I know I will never get to see her again… but a few friends (for a while though) are unforgettable, isn’t it? :)

Let’s go ahead with the recipe now… I recently made these ‘Rajasthani Mirchi Wada’ for tea-time snack :) And it came out just so well!!! I added it to my ‘Often’ list of delicacies now… ;) Here is the recipe…

INGREDIENTS:

6 Green Peppers (bhavnagri marcha)
2 Potatoes, (medium) boiled and mashed
1/2 tsp Coriander Seeds, partially crushed
1 tsp Fennel Seeds, partially crushed
1 tsp Red Chilly Powder
1.5 tsp Coriander Powder
1-2 tsp Amchur Powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
Salt, to taste
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
A pinch of hing
1 tbsp Oil

For batter:

1/3 cup Besan
A pinch baking soda
Routine Spices (red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder)
A tsp of hot oil
1/2 tsp Ajwain
Salt, to taste

Oil, to deep-fry

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. Mix mashed potatoes and spices in a bowl.
2. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds in it.
3. Once it crackles, add hing and finely chopped green/red chillies (for a spicy kick, so optional).
4. Add this tempering to mashed potatoes and mix everything well.
5. Wash and trim peppers and make a vertical slit in each one.
6. Remove all the seeds using a small spoon.
7. Stuff these peppers with potato mix.
8. Mix all the ingredients of batter and heat the oil in a kadai at the same time.
9. Coat stuffed peppers with the batter and slide 1 or 2 in the hot oil carefully.
10. Deep-fry until golden brown in color and serve hot with coriander chutney.

SJ’s NOTE:

I also love adding lightly cooked veggies or besan-mix in these peppers :)