Mirchi Ka Salan

Mirchi Ka Salan is a Hydrabadi dish. It is a preparation of hot peppers cooked in a spicy peanut sesame seeds based gravy. You can use the green chili of your choice. Each ingredient including the peppers in this dish is dry roasted to give it a unique flavor. Traditionally in India, its made with big hot green chilies. Here you can use, Jalapeno or Serrano if you like it very hot, or bell peppers, if you like it mild or medium. I had a lot of belle peppers at home, so that is what I used to make the Salan. Depending on the type of chili you use, the quantity to use will vary. For eg. I used 3 Bell Peppers, but if you are using Jalapeno or Serrano peppers, you might want to use 6-8 (to make up for the quantity in Gravy)


Here is the recipe for making Mirchi ka Salan.

Ingredients:
3 Bell Peppers, Cut into 1 Inch Big Pieces
2 Tablespoon Oil
2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1/4th Teaspoon Tamarind Pulp (I used Lemon Juice Instead)
2 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Cloves Garlic
3-4 Curry Leaves
A Pinch Asafoetida
A 2 Inch Piece of Ginger
1/4th Cup Sesame Seeds
1/4th Cup Peanutes

Masala:
2 1 Inch Sticks of Cinnamon,
2 Bay leaves
5-6 Dry Red Chilies
2 Cloves
2 Tablespoon Coriander Seeds
2 Tablespoon Cumin Seeds

Method:
In a small non stick pan dry roast all the masala at low flame for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Let it cool.

In a separate non stick pan, dry roast the peanuts and sesame seeds on low flame for 10-15 minutes until the seeds are golden brown. Let it cool.

Once all the dry roasted ingredients have cooled completely, combine them together, add the ginger and garlic and grind to a paste with the help of some water.

Heat the oil in a pan, when hot, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds start spluttering, add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida. Cook for a minute, and then add the prepared paste. Add water to get the required consistency of the curry. I like thick curries so I added only ½ cup water. Cook at medium low heat.

While the curry is cooking, heat a non stick pan and roast the bell peppers (you don’t need to add any oil). Keep the heat to medium high and stir continuously. Cook until the peppers start to char. Make sure not to burn them. You want golden brown color on their skin.

Add the charred peppers and sugar to the curry and turn the heat to medium high. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the peppers are cooked completely. Take off the heat, and add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Mix well and serve hot with rice or paratha.

Thank you for visiting Food Garden and Fun. I would love to hear from you. I appreciate your time to leave feedback and help me improve this blog.