Mirchi ka Salan: Hot Chili Peppers in Savory Sauce
Chilli Peppers (Mirchi) are the focus of this curry (Salan) dish, popular in Hyderabad, India. Chillies are seared in hot oil and stuffed with a masala paste and simmered in rich thick creamy sauce.
I used seeded jalapeños, Anaheim peppers, Poblano chillies, Wax peppers and few others from the local market that are not terribly hot. In that sense this is a mild dish, a wonderful combination of hot-sour-sweet flavors along with the aromatic spices.
In addition to the typical sesame seeds and peanuts, I used some coconut and yogurt for this creamy sauce. Also, since most of the chillies were huge, I slit them (especially to remove the seeds on the hotter ones), rather than use them whole.
Ingredients
6-8 chillies, seeded and slit if preferred
1-2 Tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp tamarind paste (or 4 Tbsp lemon juice, adjust to taste)
½ tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
water as needed
2 Tbsp sesame oil
For the masala paste:
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
2-inch piece of Indian/Chinese Cinnamon Bark
1 tsp Nigella seeds (optional)
2 Tbsp (black) sesame seeds
½ cup roasted peanuts (skinned)
2 Tbsp dry grated coconut(unsweetened)
1 Tbsp cumin powder
2 Tbsp coriander powder
1 cup yogurt (use as needed)
Preparation
- Combine the masala paste ingredients and grind to a fine paste with a little bit of water as needed
- Heat oil in a pan, sear the chilies, remove from pan, set aside
- Add the masala paste, turmeric and saut&3233; till aromatic, add the chillies, tamarind, brown sugar, some water (the sauce is usually thick), cover and simmer till chillies are softer
- Taste and balance the sour, sweet and salt; off heat fold in the yogurt; garnish with curry leaves, corainder leaves, spring onions
- Serve warm with home-made flaky paratha, naan, bathura or even plain brown basmati rice
Labels: chillies, curry, indian, vegetarian
1 Comments:
At 4:39 AM, Priya Suresh said…
Fabulous looking delicious mirchi ka salan..
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