Mirch Ka Salan

Exploring the amazing taste present throughout India, I am today presenting a very famous recipe from the region/city of Hyderabad – Mirch Ka Salan. This tasty recipe is made from green chillies, peanuts, coconut, sesame seeds and some freshly grounded spices. Mirch is the Hindi word for chilli and Salan in Urdu language (local language in Hyderabad) refers to curry. Mirch ka Salan is thus a spicy and tangy green chilli curry. I have prepared this Mirch Ka Salan in a slightly different manner, as compared to the traditional style, but it is still toothsome 😋😋.

Traditionally big, thick green chillies are used in Mirch Ka Salan but I have used the normal green chillies. Mirch Ka Salan is usually served with biryani or rice but my husband and me thoroughly enjoyed it with chapati. I have to say that this is a great and quite a different recipe of green chilli; feel free to try it even if you are not a big chilli lover.

Yes, let’s make the Mirch Ka Salan and enjoy some spice😉

The ingredients for making Mirch Ka Salan are :
1. Green Chilli : 10
2. Onion : 1
3. Garlic : 3 (finely chopped)
4. Ginger : 1/4 tsp
5. Coconut : 1/4 cup (pieces)
6. Peanut : 2 Tbsp
7. Sesame seeds (Til) : 1/2 tsp
8. Coriander seeds : 1 tsp
9. Cumin seeds (Jeera) : 1 tsp
10. Yogurt : 1 cup
11. Tamarind Chutney : 1/2 tsp
12. Salt : to taste
13. Oil : 2 tsp

Method :

Firstly dry roast the sesame seeds, peanuts, coriander seeds and cumin seeds in a pan on medium flame. Then place the mixture in a plate and allow it to cool down.

Now take 1 tsp of oil in a pan and sauté the onions till they become translucent. Switch off the flame and transfer the onions on a plate to cool down.

Now take the dry roasted mixture, onions, and coconut in a mixer jar and grind it to make a paste.

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan; and sauté garlic, ginger for few seconds. Now add the grounded paste, tamarind chutney and yogurt to the pan. Mix well and sauté for a minute. Add salt and some water (as per the desired consistency of the gravy); mix well and add the green chillies. Let it boil and voila your delicious Mirch Ka Salan ready to be enjoyed !

Note that the gravy becomes thick when it cools down so add water accordingly. You can serve this Mirch Ka Salan with biryani, rice, chapati or parantha.

Insider Tips / Finer Points :

• You may use the big, thick green chillies instead of the normal ones.
• You may fry the green chillies in oil (1 tsp) till they become soft. Then in the same oil you can saute the garlic, ginger and follow the recipe without adding any more oil.
• You may also de-seed the green chillies to reduce the spice level.
• You may adjust the spices according to your taste buds.