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

1. Combine the masala paste ingredients and grind to a fine paste with a little bit of water as needed
2. Heat oil in a pan, sear the chilies, remove from pan, set aside
3. 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
4. Taste and balance the sour, sweet and salt; off heat fold in the yogurt; garnish with curry leaves, corainder leaves, spring onions
5. Serve warm with home-made flaky paratha, naan, bathura or even plain brown basmati rice

Ema Datsi from Druk Yul

D managed to sneak in a short break from his work in India and take a cultural tour of Druk Yul: Land of the Thunder Dragon aka Bhutan.

While he has offered to do a guest post about his experiences there one of these days, I am not holding my breath, considering the 10,000 things he has lined up that are much higher priority for him, so I took the liberty of summarizing his trip just so I can experience everything as I narrate, albeit second-hand :)

Knowing my eagerness for experimenting and my unbridled passion for World Cuisine, he usually comes back from trips with cookbooks loaded with local flavors.



The Bhutan trip was no exception: A Nepalese cookbook, plus a Traditional Bhutanese cookbook with samples from the various regions were the best souvenirs he could have brought back for me. I am excited to try out a few of the recipes, now that he has actually tasted them and can tell me if it gets close to what he had.



Ema Datsi was his first suggestion. Ema Datsi is a national dish in Bhutan usually served with red rice.

Simply put, Ema Datsi is boiled chilies in cheese sauce.

D can handle insanely hot foods so I could easily believe that he relished it. Since neither the Bhutanese home-style cottage cheese nor the the meaty hot chillies is easily available here, I approximated the taste drawing from suggestions found on the web.

D's resounding "Pretty darn close to what I had" between mouthfuls seemed like this is going on the Make-Often-for-D list, as it was too hot for me to handle :)



Ingredients
Ema:
8-10 jalapeño peppers, red and green, sliced lengthwise
4-6 wax peppers sliced lengthwise (optional)
¼ medium yellow onion sliced thin
1 cup water

Cheese sauce:
Equal parts of the following to make 2 cups of grated cheese:
Queso Quesadilla Jalapeño
Colby Monterey Jack
Part-skim Mozzarella
Plus:
¼ cup crumbled feta
2-4 Tbsp grated Parmesan
4 Tbsp whole milk

Preparation

1. Seed the chilies if preferred to cut back on the heat, or use Anaheim or other varieties that are large and meaty but not as hot
2. Combine the cheeses and milk stir well and keep handy
3. Combine the chillies, onion and water and bring to a boil till chillies are cooked, but not mushy, and the water is reduced to about a quarter cup
4. Add the cheese mixture, stir well, reduce the heat and allow the cheese to melt in the heat and mingle well with the chillies, turn off heat
5. Add salt to taste if preferred - the salt from the cheeses, especially feta was just perfect for us
6. Add a bit more crumbled feta if preferred for texture/flavor
7. Serve with jasmine rice, if red rice is not available

Capsicum Paruppusili

Last year, when my mom visited us, our garden was bursting with peppers, squash, eggplant and tomatoes. My mom was frantically trying to find different ways to cook up these veggies. That's how capsicum paruppusili came about.

And since this qualifies as the JFI ingredient this time around, I am dedicating this post to the same. JFI:Chilli Peppers event is hosted this month by my dear pal, the lovely and talented Nandita of SaffronTrail

Capsicum is a genus of plants from the nightshade family (Solanaceae), native to Mexico, and now cultivated worldwide. Some of the members of Capsicum are used as spices, vegetables, and medicines. The fruit of Capsicum plants have a variety of names depending on place and type. They are commonly called chili pepper, red or green pepper, or just pepper in Britain and the US; the large mild form is called bell pepper in the US, capsicum in Australian English and Indian English...
...
The chili pepper, or more simply just "chili", is the fruit of species of the plant Capsicum from the nightshade family, Solanaceae.
The name, which is spelled differently in many regions (chili, chile or chilli), comes from Nahuatl via the Spanish word chile. The term chili in most of the world refers exclusively to the smaller, hot types of capsicum. The mild larger types are called bell pepper in the USA, simply pepper in Britain and Ireland, capsicum in Australasia and paprika in many European countries. -- Wikipedia

Paruppusili is basically, red gram lentils soaked with some dry red chilies, ground into a paste, steam-cooked and then pan fried and added to vegetable of choice, which in this recipe happens to be Capsicum. The procedure is the same as my Kovakkai Paruppusili. The only difference is, instead of Tindora/Kovakkai, substitute your favorite chilli peppers - in this case, it happens to be mild and sweet green and yellow bell peppers.

chilli thokku

Chillies - green or red, fresh or dry - have always been an integral part of my mom's kitchen. And now, chillies have a special place in my kitchen as well.

When I was growing up, there was very rarely a period when we didn't have home-made pickles and chutneys handy. In addition to regular food, that is.

Thokku is a form of pickle where the main ingredients are ground into a paste and preserved in oil and spices. The most common ones at home are tomato thokku, ginger thokku and chilli thokku.

This chilli thokku recipe is a bit different from how my mom usually makes it. The primary ingredient is, of course, chillies - both green and red - plus, I decided to throw in some dry hibiscus flowers that I had handy as I like the color and the mild flavor it adds. Now, I love the deep rich color and the smoky flavor of dry ancho-pasilla chilies, so, I went with them here. But, if this is not readily available, substitute any favorite dry red chilies - adjust quantity based on heat.



I usually make fairly small batches and store it in the fridge. It lasts for about 2 weeks (if we don't eat it all up, that is). But, sometimes, I can them and put them away for later. It tastes even better when it has had time to age gracefully and develop deep flavors.

And this chilli thokku recipe is my post for JFI: Jihva For Ingredients, started by Indira of Mahanandi fame, hosted this month by a dear pal, the lovely and talented Nandita of SaffronTrail
.

Ingredients:
6-8 dry ancho-pasilla chilies
15-20 green chillies
a handful of dry hibiscus flowers
--------------
plain white vinegar
brown sugar
salt
oil

Preparation

Soak the dry red chilies and hibiscus in some warm water for about 15 minutes.

Remove the stem and some of the seeds, if preferred, and coarsely chop the soaked chillies; in a blender or food processor, grind the three ingredients together.

Heat 4 Tbsp oil in a pan, add some mustard seeds and when they splutter, add the ground chilli paste. Add about ¼ cup plain white vinegar, about 2-3 Tbsp brown sugar, and some salt to taste.

Stir well, and keep stirring till the rawness of the chillies go away, all the liquid is evaporated, the oil starts separating and the thokku comes together. Taste and adjust flavors.

The tang from the vinegar and the sweetness of the brown sugar counter-balance the heat from the chillies and make this a wonderful condiment to have handy at home. The heat is not overpowering, killing the taste buds, so-to-speak...

How to use this chilli thokku?

1. mix a small amount with cream cheese and use it as a sandwich spread
2. spread a thin layer of this wonderful thokku on rotis or parathas (or even tortillas), roll them up and munch as a quick snack
3. mix a small amount with fresh hot rice and ghee and enjoy!