Have you ever gone to your favourite Mexican restaurant and wished that you could get hold of the recipe to make their mouth-watering chilli poppers? Well, today is your lucky day! Follow these easy steps to create your own delicious (and spicy) treats, which are great for any occasion:

What are chilli poppers?

Only the tastiest starter around! In fact, they’re so tasty, I have them as my main meal too! In a nutshell, these spicy little guys are Jalapeno chillies stuffed with cheese and wrapped in samosa pastry.

Shopping List

You can find any of the following at Spar or Pick ‘n Pay

• Samoosa or spring roll pastry (you will find them in the refrigerated section)
• Bottle of Jalapeno chillies
• Cooking oil
• Cheese (cheddar, feta, or mozzarella)
• Toothpicks
• Avocado
• Sour cream
• Tomatoes
• Red peppers
• Lemon juice
• Salt

Popper Preparation:

• Cut along the length of each jalapeno. Make sure you don’t cut them completely in half as you need the fold of the chilli to hold the cheese filling in place.
• Remove seeds and veins. These are the spiciest parts of the jalapeno, so gauge how much you remove on how spicy you want your chilli-poppers to be.
• Slice 1cm wide blocks of cheese – You can use cheddar, feta, or mozzarella.
• Stuff the chillies with the blocks of cheese until they are full. Make sure that you can still close the slit of the jalapeno without any of the cheese sticking out.
• Lay out the pastry (make sure it has defrosted if you have bought it frozen). Cut each square into two equal halves and separate.
• Take one half of the pastry and lay it flat. Place a jalapeno at the bottom end of the pastry, in the middle, so that you can roll it up.
• Fold each side of the pastry inwards, and roll the jalapeno up to form a cylinder shape.
• Stick a toothpick into the side of the wrapped jalapeno to keep the pastry in place.
• Heat enough oil in a pot to cover the chilli-poppers. Once it is boiling (you can use a ‘test’ popper to check) add the jalapenos to the pot – you may have to do several loads.
• Turn the chilli-poppers so that they cook throughout and remove after about 30 seconds – once they have turned a crispy golden-brown.
• Place the chilli-poppers on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil.

Guacamole Dip 

• 2 ripe avocados, peeled
• 1 chopped tomato
• ¼ chopped red pepper
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. chopped jalapeno
• 1 ½  tsp. lemon juice

NOTE: This must be made only a short time before you serve it, as guacamole doesn’t keep for long.

Guacamole Preparation

• Slice the avocados down the middle and remove the skin and pip.
• Chop up the avocado, red pepper, jalapeno, and tomato, and beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
• Add salt and lemon juice (which stops the dip from going brown) and mix.
• Store in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

NOTE: You can buy ready-made guacamole dip and sour cream at the supermarket if you don’t want to make your own.

Let us know your favourite chilli-popper tips and tricks in the comments below!

You may also like: The Oyster Box Lamb Curry Recipe, the South African bunny chow recipe, and our blue cheese and chive mash recipe!