Mirchi Ka Salan is a creamy and flavorful chili pepper curry that is a perfect accompaniment for our famous biryani recipes. This rich and tangy vegan curry will work wonders with other dishes too.
Hyderabadi Mirchi Ka Salan
True, to its culinary fame, Hyderabad has an endless list of amazing recipes.
Now we turn to mirchi ka salan, a popular curry of chili peppers cooked in a creamy base made with roasted sesame, dried coconut, peanuts, spices and other aromatic ingredients. Mirchi means 'chili peppers' and salan refers to the 'gravy or sauce'.
It is often served as a side dish at major feasts, weddings, and banquets. Pair it with lamb or chicken biryani to make a great meal. Much like bagara baingan (another rich plant-based curry), it is enjoyed in small portions.
What Kind of Chili Peppers Should I Use?
Traditionally long green chilies were used. Here in the USA, I like using hot banana peppers. If you like it milder, then use the mild banana peppers. But if you prefer it hot, you can try Anaheim peppers but remove the seeds to lower the pungency slightly. Other peppers you can use are - shishito, pepperoncini, cubanelles.
What Spices Do I Need?
For this recipe, choose whole spices - coriander seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds. Roast all of these and grind them into a powder. You will also need chili powder and ground turmeric.
Can I use Tamarind Paste?
In this recipe, I use dried tamarind that can be soaked in water to extract the pulp. If you don't have access to that, then you may use tamarind paste.
Since the tamarind paste products may differ in sourness, I would start with a tablespoon and increase gradually as per taste. The sour taste evolves as you cook, so let it simmer a few minutes and taste before adding more. You will need to add a little bit of sugar to balance the intense sour taste.
How to Dry Curry Leaves Perfectly?
It is a dilemma to get fresh curry leaves in several places in the USA. Most often, people buy it on weekend trips to the nearest town with an Indian store. But not to worry, I have a great trick to dry the curry leaves in bulk for later use.
Just rinse the curry leaves and spin them in a salad spinner. Then spread them on a paper towel and microwave for 20 to 30 seconds until they dry up, but are still green, and the surface remains slightly fresh. The surface will eventually dry up.
You may have to adjust the amount of time in microwave based on the power of your appliance. And be sure not to exceed the time or they will dry up too much and turn brown.
Curry leaves that are dried using the above method result in leaves that are still green and very flavorful.
Step By Step Overview
**Full recipe at the end of post.
Tamarind
- Soak dry tamarind in warm water and extract the pulp, which will be added to the curry later on. Or use tamarind paste.
Spice and Nut Mixture
- Dry roast spices, seeds and nuts until they darken a bit and turn aromatic.
- Cool and grind them into a powder.
Mirchi Curry
- Heat oil and sauté onion until soft and light brown. Let cool and process into a paste.
- Sauté chili peppers until light golden in some spots and set aside.
- Sauté cumin seeds and curry leaves in oil.
- Add ginger, garlic, onion paste, chili powder, turmeric, some salt, brown sugar and cook few minutes. Stir in seed-nut powder.
- Next, add tamarind juices and water, adjust consistency and cook few minutes. Add salt to taste.
- Slide chili peppers into the sauce and let it simmer until they are soft, gravy is thick and some oil trickles to the surface.
Pro Tips
- Choose chili peppers that are not too hot.
- If you don't have white poppy seeds, increase the sesame seeds.
- You can substitute lemon juice for tamarind. It will still taste good, but not exactly authentic. Some people also use yogurt instead of tamarind.
- The sourness from tamarind evolves as it is cooked, so be careful not to add too much. Try to increase it gradually after tasting the cooked sauce.
- The nuts and seeds make the sauce thicker as they cook. Add water to adjust the consistency as needed.
What to Serve With It?
Mirchi ka salan is often served with biryani. It is a classic combination and we have some popular recipes for that - Lamb Biryani and Vegetable Biryani.
But this creamy gravy can also be served along with plain rice, lemon cauliflower rice, dill rice, etc. Make it a main course with plain rice on the side.
For a comforting meal, serve it with naan bread, whole wheat naan, Indian dal or easy aloo gobi recipe.
Make Ahead
You can make the spice mix and the nut-seed mixture ahead of time. Those can also be made in bulk and stored. The nut and seed mix should be refrigerated or frozen for the long term.
Storage
This chili pepper curry keeps well for quiet sometime. It can be refrigerated for 4 to 5 days or frozen for two months.
Nutrition Facts
This is a rich and creamy gravy that uses plant fat sources such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds, peanuts and dried coconut, most of which are a good source of healthy unsaturated fats.
However, this curry is usually cooked with more oil to result in a creamy sauce with a thin layer of oil on top. You can scoop out the oil, after using it as a vehicle for cooking the sauce, as per your preference to lighten it up. It will still taste amazing, guaranteed!
The spices, ginger, garlic, tamarind, chili peppers, onions, etc., used in the recipe are all nourishing ingredients. This curry is vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, egg free, soy free, dairy free and grain free.
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Mirchi Ka Salan
Ingredients
Tamarind Pulp
- 2 ounces dry tamarind see note for substitute
- 1 cup water warm
Nut and Spice Mixture
- ⅓ cup dried coconut flakes
- ¼ cup peanuts
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons white poppy seeds see note for substitute
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1½ teaspoons cumin seeds divided
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
Curry
- ¼ cup peanut oil or any mild tasting oil
- 2 yellow onions large, cut into large pieces
- ¾ lb chili peppers banana or Anaheim, about 6 peppers, see note
- 12 curry leaves
- 2 teaspoons ginger paste
- 2 teaspoons garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- Salt to taste
- 1½ cups water
- 2 tablespoons Cilantro chopped
Instructions
Tamarind Pulp
- Soak the dry tamarind in a cup of warm water until very soft, about half hour. Squeeze and mash it to extract the pulp. Then drain it well to get the juices and discard the seeds and residues.
Spice and Nut Mixture
- Meanwhile, in a wide sauté pan or a frying pan, dry roast the spices (except ½ teaspoon cumin), seeds and nuts, at medium heat, until they darken a bit and turn aromatic.
- Cool the seeds/nuts and grind them into a powder, using a nut or spice grinder.
Mirchi Curry
- In the same sauté pan, heat oil at medium setting. Add onions and sauté until soft and light brown. Allow to cool and using a food processor, grind onions into a slightly coarse paste.
- Next, slit the chili peppers on the side (I used hot banana peppers) and add to the pan and sauté on all sides until light golden in some spots. Remove and set aside to cool.
- Heat the remaining oil at medium setting in the same wide sauté pan. When the oil is hot, add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds. Once the seeds crackle, add the curry leaves and sauté for 2 minutes until they start curling.
- Then add ginger paste, garlic paste, onion paste, chili powder, turmeric, some salt, brown sugar, stir it all and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the seed-nut powder.
- Add tamarind juices, use additional water and adjust to a thin smoothie-like consistency and let it cook for 5 minutes. Adjust salt as per taste.
- Slide the sautéed chili peppers into the gravy, cover with a lid and let it simmer at low medium heat, for 10 to 15 minutes, until sauce becomes thick and some of the oil trickles to the surface.
- The curry should have a thick and creamy consistency. Add water only as needed. Garnish with chopped cilantro, if you prefer.
- Turn off the heat and serve it hot with biryani, rice, naan or parathas.
Notes
- Chili Peppers: In the USA, banana peppers or anaheim peppers can work for this recipe. Anaheim peppers are the most pungent, followed by hot banana peppers and then mild banana peppers. Removing seeds also lowers the heat. Other peppers you can use are - shishito, pepperoncini, cubanelles
- Tamarind: If you don't have dry tamarind, then you may use tamarind paste. I would start with a tablespoon, cook it few minutes, taste and then increase it gradually as per preference. The sour taste evolves as you cook, so let that happen before adding more.
- Chili Powder: I used Kashmiri chili powder as it is mild and also has a bright red color. If you prefer it hot, then use regular chili powder.
- White Poppy Seeds: If you don't have white poppy seeds, increase the sesame seeds.
- Make Ahead: You can make the spice mix and the nut-seed mixture ahead of time. Those can also be made in bulk and stored. The nut and seed mix should be refrigerated or frozen for the long term.
- Storage: This chili pepper curry keeps well for quiet sometime. If can be refrigerated for 4 to 5 days or frozen for two months.
- Check out the blog post above for drying and storing curry leaves for later use.
- All ingredients are available at Indian grocery stores. Dry products can be bought online as well
- Nutrition facts do not include any added salt, and are adjusted for removing some oil trickled to the surface of cooked curry.
Adrianne says
The nut and spice mixture, the curry, this all sounds so good! I haven't see peppers used like this before so I love that unique interesting combination. Thanks for sharing.
Beth says
This looks so tasty and full of flavor! I can't wait to give this a try!
Jacqueline says
That sounds so delicious. Craving it here now!
Claudia says
wow what great flavors I just love peppers and this has so much going on to make this over the top fabulous!
Jesse says
This Mirchi Ka Salan is so incredibly flavorful! Our family loves it.