To Prepare the Chiles

• Before roasting, puncture with knife to prevent bursting!! Roast chiles individually over gas flame, on gas grill, under gas broiler, or in preheated 500° F oven until charred and blistered all over.
• Place in a paper bag or in covered casserole for 10 minutes to steam. Carefully peel chiles.
• Make a slit in the stem end of each chile and remove seeds if desired. I do not remove seeds as I can't do it without tearing up the chile.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Beat egg slightly and combine with buttermilk.
• Add to flour mixture, stirring gently to mix. Do not worry if your batter is a little lumpy. It should be the consistency of pancake batter. If it seems a bit thick, thin with a little more buttermilk.
• Set batter aside at room temperature.
• Heat peanut oil in a large, heavy pot (cast iron or enameled cast iron work well here) and bring the oil to 350° F.
• Mix the flour and salt for the dredge and place in a shallow pan.
• Insert a strip of cheese into each chile. Stuff carefully to avoid breaking.
• To coat chiles, dip stuffed chiles into the dredge and then into batter. Let excess drain back into the batter bowl and then carefully lower the chile into the hot oil.
• Fry until golden brown, turning once. Remove from fat and keep warm in a 200°F oven until you have fried all the chiles.