Mirchi Ka Salan!

Fresh, fleshy, long Chillies in a tangy tamarind, peanut & sesame sauce.



Mmmm Mirchi! When its winter in Hyderabad you see Mirchis in red and green colors in abundance. This brings to my mind different variteies of food made with mirchi. Mirchi Bajji, Mirchi ka Salan, Perruku Mirchi Vadiyam, Red Mirchi Pickle this list goes on...Hmm yum.... Though it is the hottest vegetable. It is still a favorite of many people. There is some thing about this that makes it so tasty.

Mirchi ka salan is a typical hyderabadi curry served with hyderabadi biryani. This a authentic recipe can be served and goes well with any Biryani, Vegetable Pulao and Roti.

It is made with 6 long Chillies or Jalapeno, half cup of roasted peanuts, about 3 tsp of sesame (till) seeds, half onion fried in oil, 3 inch size of fresh or dry coconut, small lime size tamarind soaked in warm water and juice removed, one tbs jaggery, one Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 Tsp Dhaniya (corinader) powder, 1/2 tsp of roasted methi/jeera powder. For Tadka/Popu: 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, jeera seeds, about 10 curry leaves, 1/2 cup oil.

Grind peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut, onion, ginger garlic to a fine paste. Slit Chillies length wise and remove the seeds if it is too hot.

In a wide pan, add oil. When the oil is warm, put the tadka/poppu. When it starts to spluter, carefully put the slit Chillies, and cover it with a lid. When the Chillies are half cooked, add the paste along with tamarind juice, turmeric, dhaniya (corinader) powder and salt . Let it boil for about 5 mins. Now add the methi jeera powder and boil it another 5 minutes. Add water if necessary while boiling. Cook it till the gravy is thick. Serve it with Biryani, Rice, Roti or Naan.

Note: Adjust the salt, tamarind juice to taste. Sometimes chillies might not be very hot you can add chilli powder but try to avoid it as much as you can. If the Chillies are hot, do not slit too long this might release too much heat into the gravy. It also gets shred while cooking if slit too long.