Indian cooking / Dishes / Milgai Bhajiya

Milgai Bhajiya

Andhra Chilli Fritters

Vegetarian●●●Origin Tamil NaduPrep 30 minutesCook 30 minutes

Crisp, golden Andhra fritters made from whole chillies packed with a tangy, spiced tamarind paste and coated in a savoury chickpea flour crust. They offer a vibrant combination of sharp sourness, heat, and crunch.

Filling spices

3.4 gBlended into the stuffing paste (step 2)

Dried red chilli · Sukhi Lal Mirch

2 g2 chillies

spice

Asafoetida · Hing

1.4 g½ teaspoon

spice

Keep whole: they are blended directly into the paste.

Everything else

Green chilli · Hari Mirch

72 g12 chillies

vegetable

Vegetable oil · Telfor deep-frying

to taste

oil/fat

Onion · Pyazchopped

600 g4 onions

vegetable

Green chilli · Hari Mirchde-seeded and chopped

12 g2 chillies

vegetable

Tamarind extract · Imli ka Ras Make it: Imli ka Sutt →

16 g1 tablespoon

souring agent

Salt · Namak

to taste

salt

Chickpea flour · Besan

150 g

flour

Rice flour · Chawal ka atta

20 g2 tablespoons

flour

Salt · Namak

~0.3 g1 pinch

salt

Method

Cut a lengthwise slit down one side of each of the 12 chillies, taking care to leave the stems intact.
Put the 4 chopped shallots, 12 g green chilli, the filling spices, 15.6 g tamarind extract, salt to taste, and 15 ml water into a blender or food processor. Blend until a thick, uniform paste forms, then stuff this mixture into the prepared chillies.
In a bowl, whisk together 150 g chickpea flour, 2 tablespoons rice flour, 0.3 g salt, and 250 ml water until you have a thick batter.
Pour vegetable oil into a deep pan or kadhai and bring it to 180°C (350°F), then reduce the heat slightly. Working in batches, dip the stuffed chillies into the batter to coat thoroughly, then lower them gently into the hot oil.
Fry for about 4 minutes, turning frequently until crisp and evenly golden brown. Transfer with a slotted spoon onto paper towels to drain.

Don't have something?

Green chilli

Chilli powder
Use 10 to 15% of the weight (about 1/4 teaspoon per chilli); imparts dry pungent heat and reddens the dish without the grassy crunch.
Dried red chilli
Use 1 dried pod per fresh green chilli; snap in half and temper in hot oil for a deeper, toastier heat.

Vegetable oil

Peanut oil
Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.
Ghee
Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.
Mustard oil
Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Onion

Shallot
Use equal weight, finely sliced. Shallots soften and brown faster, giving a slightly sweeter and more delicate base to curries.
Cabbage
Use 80% of the weight, finely shredded and browned slowly with a pinch of asafoetida. Replicates the bulk and natural sweetness in gravies without allium.

Dried red chilli

Dried kashmiri chilli
Use equal weight whole. Fry in hot oil or ghee as tempered spice; gives a richer red colour with slightly milder heat.
Red chilli powder
Use 50% to 70% of the weight. Stir into the oil with ground spices; distributes heat evenly throughout the dish without whole chilli skins.

Asafoetida

Garlic powder
Use double the weight. Stir into hot oil just before adding wet ingredients; mimics the allium savoury background without the sulphurous edge.
Garlic paste
Use 2 g for every 0.5 g of asafoetida. Sauté in oil until the raw smell clears; adds moisture and sweet allium depth.

Tamarind extract

Tamarind
Use 180% of the weight of compressed tamarind; soak in three times its weight of boiling water for 15 minutes, knead, and strain out the thick pulp.
Dried mango powder
Use 35% of the weight dissolved in two tablespoons of warm water. Provides sharp tang, though the resulting sauce will be lighter in colour.
Lemon juice
Use equal weight, added right at the end of cooking. Adds sharp acidity without the deep brown hue or pulpy thickness.

Chickpea flour

Yellow split pea flour
Use 100% of the weight. Many commercial gram flours are milled from split peas; performs identically in pakora batters and kadhi.
Cornstarch
For crisping batters or binding cutlets: use 50% to 60% of the weight. Produces a very crisp shell but lacks the earthy, roasted nutty flavour of besan.

Rice flour

Cornflour
Use about 60–70% of the weight for thickening; for coatings use the same weight but the crust is denser.
Plain flour
Use the same weight for coatings; contains gluten, browns faster and is less crisp.
Fine semolina
Use the same weight for crisp coatings; coarser texture and needs a short rest.

Similar dishes

Rajasthani Karhi

Gram (Chickpea) Flour & Yoghurt Curry

Rajasthani Karhi has a milder, silky, and earthy flavour with a dairy tang, contrasting with the intense chilli heat, sharp tamarind punch, and crisp crunch of this dish.

Same: Rajasthani Karhi also uses chickpea flour as a primary ingredient, seasoned with green chillies and asafoetida.
Different: Instead of deep-frying whole chillies, it is a simmered yoghurt-based curry seasoned with cumin seeds, turmeric, and garlic paste, using peanut oil and ghee rather than vegetable oil and relying on yoghurt instead of tamarind for acidity.

Papri

Gram (Chickpea) Flour Biscuits (Crackers)

Papri is less fiery and has a pungent mustard aroma rather than the sharp tamarind sourness and intense fresh chilli heat of this dish.

Same: Both recipes are deep-fried snacks based on chickpea flour seasoned with chilli, asafoetida, and salt.
Different: Papri is rolled and fried into flat crackers using mustard oil, lacking the whole fresh chillies, tamarind paste, and neutral vegetable oil used here.

Avasara Adai

Quick Semolina (Farina) & Gram (Chickpea) Pancakes

It tastes like a savoury semolina griddle cake with coconut and herb notes, crisp edges and a tender crumb, so it is less sharply sour and less chilli-forward than this dish.

Same: It shares chickpea flour, onion, green chilli, asafoetida, dried red chilli and vegetable oil with this dish.
Different: It uses semolina as a base and adds coconut, ginger, coriander leaf, mustard seed, cumin seed and curry leaf. This dish uses tamarind extract and rice flour and is fried as whole-chilli fritters stuffed with spiced tamarind paste.

Vengayya

Onion Fritters

Vengayya tastes oniony and aromatic from ajwain with green chilli heat but no tamarind sourness, while this dish is sharply sour from tamarind and hotter from dried red chilli.

Same: Vengayya and this dish are both crisp, golden fritters made with chickpea flour, rice flour, green chilli, onion, salt, and vegetable oil.
Different: Vengayya mixes onion into a batter with ajwain seeds and coriander leaf, while this dish stuffs whole green chillies with tamarind paste and also uses dried red chilli and asafoetida.