Mirchi ka salan: the Hyderabadi curry of fried green chillies in a roasted peanut, sesame and coconut gravy with tamarind. The classic side for biryani.
Every biryani at Biryani Pot comes with a small bowl of mirchi ka salan. Mirchi means chilli and salan means curry, but this is not a fiery dish. The long chillies are chosen for flavour, and the gravy of roasted peanuts, sesame and coconut is rich, nutty and gently sour from tamarind.
Spoon it over biryani as you eat. It is also excellent with plain rice, or with paratha for breakfast the next day.
Choosing chillies
In Hyderabad, cooks use long, thick-skinned chillies that are mild. In the US, look for bhavnagri chillies at Indian grocers, or use banana peppers or Anaheims. Avoid jalapeños and serranos unless you want real heat.
Make it ahead
Salan keeps for three days in the fridge and improves overnight. Add a splash of water when you reheat it.
Recipe
Mirchi ka salan, Hyderabad's chilli curry
Ingredients
For the paste
- 3 tbsp raw peanuts
- 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
For the curry
- 8 large, mild green chillies (Indian bhavnagri, banana peppers or Anaheims)
- 4 tbsp neutral oil
- ½ tsp black mustard seeds, ½ tsp cumin seeds, ¼ tsp nigella seeds, ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 10–12 curry leaves
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric and 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1 tsp jaggery or brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1½ cups water
Method
- Roast and grind. Dry-roast the peanuts, sesame, coconut, cumin and coriander in a pan over medium-low heat until fragrant and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Cool, then grind to a smooth paste with ½ cup water.
- Fry the chillies. Slit each chilli lengthwise, keeping the stem on. Scrape out the seeds for a milder curry. Fry in the oil over medium heat until blistered in patches, 3–4 minutes. Lift out and set aside.
- Temper. In the same oil, add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add cumin, nigella, fenugreek and curry leaves for 20 seconds.
- Build the gravy. Add the onion and cook until soft and golden. Stir in the ginger-garlic paste, turmeric and chilli powder for a minute, then the ground paste. Cook, stirring, until the oil starts to separate at the edges, 6–8 minutes.
- Simmer. Add the tamarind, jaggery, salt and water. Simmer for 10 minutes until it coats a spoon. Return the chillies and simmer for 5 minutes more. Rest before serving; it tastes better after an hour.
Home-style recipe from the Biryani Pot Indian Bar & Grill Journal. It is not our restaurant's own recipe; for that, visit us.