Hot Chili Peppers

Hot chili peppers are one of those gifts of nature that you either love of cannot handle. They are fruits of the capsicum family and come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Not all chili peppers are spicy and they are ranked on the Scoville scale for heat. They reaction on individuals is based on chemistry.

In general however eating chilies result in pain followed by an endorphin high. Well, I like hot green chilies and the red cherry peppers (the later for appearance as much as taste), and, in general I think of finger food when I think spicy.

I will talk about making pakoras, that are these simple but irresistable chickpea flour fritters. In my house making pakoras is like making homemade pizza, every has their preference, my brother likes cauliflower, my husband likes tomato, I like chicken, so you get the picture, anyhow, here are two variations.

The first one is with brocolli and make with large florettes tempura style.

Brocolli Pakoras

Makes 20 pieces

Ingredients

1 cup chick pea flour (besan)

1.5 tsp chat masala

1 tsp salt

3 tsp finely chopped green chilies

2 tsp finely chopped cilantro

3/4 cup water

Oil for frying

20 large brocolli florettes

Method of Preparation

1. Mix the besan, chat masala, salt, chillies, and cilantro in a bowl.

2. Add in the water to form a smooth batter.

3. Heat the oil and test with a drop of the batter, it should spread and rise to the top.

4. Lower the heat (this is important) and gently coat each piece of brocolli in the batter and fry in batches and drain on paper towels and serve with ketchup and ginger tea.

Shrimp and Tomato Pakoras

Makes about 20

Ingredients

1 cup small shrimp shelled and deviened

1 lime

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp red chili powder

1 tbsp grated ginger and garlic

1 cup besan

1 onion finely chopped 1 tsp whole cumin seeds

2 tsp chopped cilantro

4 chillies finely chopped

20 grape tomatoes halved

1 tsp black salt

2/3 cup water

Oil for frying

Method of Preparation

1. Squeeze the lime over the shrimp and mix with the salt and chili powder and set aside for 20 minutes.

2. Mix all the remaining ingredients except the oil into a thick paste.

3. Drain the shrimp on paper towels and add to the batter.

4. Heat the oil and test as for the brocolli pakoras and reduce to medium high.

5. Add tablespoons of the mixture and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side. Serve hot.

This is being sent to the Chocolate Lady who is hosting this week's weekend herb blogging. That is quite an iteresting blog that she maintains.