Green Chilli Thecha Recipe (Maharashtrian Mirchi Chutney)
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 17kcal
Made using fresh green chili peppers and garlic, Green Chilli Thecha is a Maharashtrian condiment that is specially served with bhakri (millet flatbread). It is like a spicy chutney that perks up any meal. Learn how to make a traditional recipe at home.
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Ingredients
- 5 ounce green chilies 150 g
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ cup whole peeled garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- Wash the green chili peppers with water and wipe them with a kitchen towel. Remove their stalk and set aside.
- Keep a wide heavy bottom pan on high heat. We need more surface area for the chilies to blister nicely. A cast-iron skillet works best. You can also make it on a large iron tawa.
- Add the peppers to the hot pan and fry on high heat until they are blistered (8-10 minutes). Keep stirring at regular intervals.
- Once blistered, remove the chilies on a plate.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add vegetable oil to the same pan. It will get heated in just a few seconds as the pan is already very hot. Add cumin seeds and garlic cloves and mix everything. Cook until garlic cloves are blistered (2-3 minutes). Keep stirring frequently.
- Transfer the cumin seeds and garlic to the plate along with chilies and let everything cool down for 5 minutes.
- Add green chilies and garlic mixture to a large mortar and pestle along with salt and pound to make a coarse paste. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can crush the ingredients in a food processor or a chopper. Just make sure to keep it coarse and not pasty.
- Once everything comes together, it is ready to serve.
Notes
You can also give the ready Thecha a tempering of asafetida (hing) and mustard seeds in ghee. Just heat 2 teaspoon ghee in a small pan. Once the ghee is hot, add mustard seeds and asafetida and let them crackle for 3-4 seconds. Pour the tempering over Thecha and mix well.
Some Maharashtrian houses add roasted crushed peanuts in this thecha, which adds a beautiful crunch and balance the heat. You can also add toasted sesame seeds to it.
You can use red chilies to make red chili thecha.
Do not use a blender to make thecha as it will make it pasty.
Nutrition
Calories: 17kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 64mg | Potassium: 22mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg