Subscribe to RSSButtermilk chilli (Taaka mirsang or Majjige menasu)
Whole green chilies are one of the constituents of many North Karnataka meals. It is usually served with Jolad rotti or sajjige rotti. Many times it is replaced with mirchi bajji - green chilies dipped in gram flour mixture and deep fried. In the Karavali (coastal) belt of Karnataka, usually this taaka mirsang(Konkani) or majjige menasu (Kannada) - green chilies soaked in buttermilk(taak /majjige), sun dried and then deep fried, are very popular. Most of the Konkani functions include this along with other deep fried sun dried items like papads, fritters(vadis) etc. These chilies are very popular in other parts of South India too.
I usually make a huge batch of these chilies every year. I use a local variety called as Gokarn chillies which are light green, plump. The light green ones are mild and dark green ones are more spicy. I usually select the ones with medium heat. They are usually available after rainy season - from December onwards.
Traditionally these are deep fried in hot oil. Many people avoid eating these chilies due to this. My grandmother used to shallow fry them in a little ghee on a low flame. This requires only a little oil/ghee. Ghee gives a very nice aroma, this is feasible only when a small quantity of chillies are needed.
At my home, everyone likes to eat it with plain curd and rice. It gives nice spice and taste to bland curd rice.
We have two methods of making taaka mirsang. In both, some additional flavoring is used which gives a very nice aroma to the chillies. Infact there is a third method in which these additional flavorings are not added. In method-1, some spices are added to the buttermilk and then the chillies are soaked in them. In method-2, chillies are soaked in plain buttermilk(with salt) dried and then the ground spices are applied to them. Both have their own taste. I usually follow method-1 as the chillies prepared with method-2 do not remain tasty for a long time.
Ingredients:
1 kg green chilies
1 liter buttermilk
6-7 tea spns salt (depends on the kind of salt used, so be careful while adding it)
Preparing chillies:
Wash the chillies. Trim the stem(thottu) into half. Put a deep cut into chillies taking care not to slit them completely.
Method-1:
Make a powder from 2 tea spns cumin seeds, 1/2 tea spn fenugreek seeds, 1/4 tea spn asafoetida. Add this powder and salt to the buttermilk. Immerse the chillies in this buttermilk overnight and next day, take out the chillies and dry them under hot sun.Do not discard the buttermilk.
In the evening, put them back in the same buttermilk. Next day, dry them again. Repeat this procedure for about 4-5 days. By this time, all the buttermilk is soaked by the chillies and the spices give a very nice aroma to it. Once all buttermilk has been done, dry the chillies for 3-4 days more till they are completely dried and become crispy. Store in airtight container after they have cooled to room temperature.
Method-2:
Immerse the chilies in buttermilk with salt. (No spices added at this stage). Continue soaking and sun drying them as above till all the buttermilk is done.
Soak 6 tea spns of urad dal and 1 tea spn fenugreek seeds in water for an hour. Grind them to a smooth paste. Smear this paste on the chillies and sun dry for 3-4 days more.
Serving:
While serving, deep fry them in hot oil or shallow fry in ghee/oil and serve. These fried chillies remain good for 5-6 days in air tight containers.
Pictorial:
Chillies slitted ready to soak in buttermilk
Chillies after drying for 3 days and soaked in buttermilk, ready to be dried again
After all the buttermilk has been soaked, ready for 3 days of continuous drying
Nice post Aunty explaining the method step by step..My Aayi too makes this every year. Its a must in our home. My MIL makes a Taka-Mirsangi Curd rice by squishing the fried chillies in the curd and using it for mixing with rice. I love tht a lot.
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:17 pmWow!
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:44 pmNice recipe and pics…..
We have a similar preparation in Kerala too… I love these chilies… Great recipe aunty, I can only drool at it, since we never get enough sun here to dry the chilies.
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:45 pmI made similar chiles last year using an Andhra recipe…I love these so much! Tart, hot, salty. And now I’d like to try making them again this summer by following your recipe- method 1. The spice combo sounds SO deicious. Thank you for sharing this.
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:40 amHey this is one of my mother’s delicay. i get from her only.. love this along wth white curry and curd rice..
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:19 amI love those balaka menasinkai, great eith Mosaranna too. I tried making at home at home once, didn’t work!:D
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:18 amLooks delicious, enjoy!:)
In Maharashtra we call it ‘Sandgi Mirchi’. we eat this with rice+ghee, with Dahi-Bhat, with ‘Phodni-Bhat. we prepare ‘Dadpe Pohe’ with ‘Sandgi Mirchi’.
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:33 pm1 Patal pohe
2 onion
3 coconut
4 kothimbir
5 salt
6 sugar
And ‘Sandgi Mirchi’
we love this snacks.
Namaste Aunty, it is so nice to see you post these traditional dishes. Ur recipes have been featured by Shilpa for a long time now, but I would like to welcome you to the blog-world!
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:45 pmThose pics are so tempting, lovely post!
Regards,
Richa
These chillies are delicious with curd rice, Aunty! Thanks for the detailed instructions!
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:15 pmDear Ayi,
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:01 pmThis is utterly unique to me. I have never heard of yoghurt soaked dried chilies. Oh, how I would love to try some. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hello aunty. All your recipes have such detailed instructions that I love to read them. These look so hot
June 24th, 2008 at 4:33 amwow very nice pictures..
June 24th, 2008 at 8:34 amwow shilpa….I love them…..and such a good post!
June 24th, 2008 at 8:54 ammajjige balaka as we call it in m’lore. we usally make this using 2nd method.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:30 amShilpa, this looks amazing.. What a lovely way to add the zing to buttermilk!!
June 24th, 2008 at 12:15 pmWow! That’s a *lot* of work, I usually just go out and buy them
I’m truly impressed!
June 24th, 2008 at 2:17 pmSince my friend from Sri Lanka, Kumi, introduced me to curd chilies, I just cannot get enough. Sometimes, I would snack on it just like that without even frying it!
The other day when I was in the US, I found a differnt kind in a store, these are stuffed with turmeric and gram powder I think. I haven’t tried them yet
June 24th, 2008 at 10:07 pmI discovered these lovely chillies in New Delhi once some years ago through my sister and I just love them. I thought they were made with joghurt. Thank you so much for such detailed description. I must try it out myself.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:53 amWow - I would love to try these. I have never heard of anything like this before.
Unfortunately I am unlikely to get the requisite sun here in the UK - do you think I could slowly dry these in the oven at a very low heat every day?
How long would they last for??
Thank you!
Shilpa: I think you can make it in oven on a low heat every day. But I don’t think it will last as long as the sun dried ones. As I haven’t tried this method, I don’t know much :(.
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:34 am