Mirchi ka Salan – Green Pepper Curry
- Recipe Type: Side Dish
- Cuisine: Indian
- Author: Birjis Rashed
- cooking time: 45 mins
- Serves: 4
Mirchi ka Salan is a spicy, tangy and piquant green peppers curry. It is made with green peppers, either Anaheim or jalapenos. Mirchi ka salan, is an authentic Hyderabadi dish served with mutton biryani, vegetable biryani or palao.
Ingredients
- 1 lb green peppers -jalapenos or anahiem
- 1 c peanuts
- 1⁄2 c sesame seeds
- 1 onion
- 2 t ginger garlic paste
- 1⁄2 c grated coconut
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 T red pepper powder
- 1 t coriander seeds powder
- 1⁄2 t turmeric
- 1 t cumin & fenugreek seeds
- 1 t kalonji seeds/ nigella seeds
- 2 t salt
- 6 T oil
- 1⁄2 t mustard seeds
- 2 T tamarind concentrate/fresh tamrind pulp/lemon juice
Instructions
- Take a thick frying pan and dry roast the shelled peanuts to golden brown. The skin gets removed by constantly dabbing with a paper towel while roasting. Set aside this skinned golden peanuts. Next on the warm thick frying pan dry roast the beige sesame seeds to a shade darker. The sesame seeds tend to pop and fly, hence roast on a low flame, and keep a splatter screen handy. The desiccated coconut needs be dry roasted to light brown. Roast this too on low flame as coconut gets burned quickly and turns bitter. Grind all this to a powder or paste and set aside.
- On the frying pan add a little oil and lightly fry the sliced onions to brown and translucent. Blend this to paste and set aside.
- Carefully slit on the side and deseed the green peppers. If using long Anaheim peppers cut diagonally into two and then deseed. If using jalapeños, deseed with extra care, since they have a burning sensation.
- In a large nonstick pot, pour oil to warm and fry the green peppers till soft but still slightly crunchy and set aside.
- In the same warm oil, make a ‘baghar’ or ‘tarka’ ie seasoning by putting mustard seeds and cumin seeds to pop and sizzle. Also add a few seeds of fenugreek and kalonji or nigella for an authentic flavor. This seasoning can be done in the beginning or at the end of making the curry. You may prefer to do it at the beginning for convenience, but if done in the end the flavor of the seasoning in fresh.
- To this oil now add the ginger& garlic paste and sauté for 2 minutes. Next add the peanut, sesame and coconut powder and onion paste and sauté till a nutty aroma emanates. Also add salt, turmeric, red pepper powder, coriander seed powder and let cook for few more minutes on low flame.
- While the masalas are cooking, add finely chopped tomatoes and sauté further. Tomatoes can be blended instead of chopped too. I sometimes even skip tomatoes. Personally I keep switching this option to give the curry a variation each time I cook.
- The curry base is then ready for the fried green peppers to be added. Cook this on a very slow flame till the flavor of the peppers passes on to the curry, while the curry cooks the peppers to a soft consistency.
- Lastly add one or two tablespoon of tamarind concentrate according to the piquancy you handle. Fresh tamarind juice is a better substitute; one can make it by soaking a lemon size ball of fresh tamarind in warm water and squeezing the pulp out. This gives a better flavor and color to the curry rather than the tamarind concentrate. Two tablespoons or more of lemon juice is also another option. Cook for 10-15 minutes on slow flame till the oil in the gravy rises up. This shows the dish is ready to be served and eaten.
Notes
The other Hyderabadi counterpart of Mirchi ka salan is the Bagara Baingan which is made from eggplant or brinjal. Both have a similar style of cooking, except for a few ingredients difference. Poppy seeds, an active ingredient in bagare baingan is eliminated in Mirchi ka salan, but including it also adds a good variation. Mirchi ka Salan like Bagara Baingan is served with the famous Hyderabadi Biryani in festive occasions and weddings.
– Mirch Ka salan can be prepared a day ahead before its served since the spicy piquant flavor get accentuated next day.
