Hinga Mirsang (Green Chillies in Asafoetida)

Ingredients:

300g small, hot, green chillies (eg birdseye)
100g white salt
45g black mustard seeds
6 tsp hing (asafoetida)
5 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

Wash the chillies well and dry thoroughly then, using a sharp knife, make a single slit down the side of each chilli and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and cook them until they begin to crackle. Take off the heat and mix the mustard seeds (and the oil they were cooked in) with the salt. Add the asafoetida to the same pan and cook until it begins to brown then add to the mustard and salt mixture.

Use this salt and spice mix to stuff into the centre of each chilli (save any mixture left over). Add the remaining oil to a pan and fry the chillies gently on a low flame. Add the remaining salt mixture and continue frying until the chillies bleach to a whitish colour.

Remove from the pan and set aside to cool. Store in an air-tight jar, packing the remaining salt around them. They will keep like this for many months.