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Mirchi ka Salan
December 13, 2007 | 42 Comments
… Curried Peppers in a Peanut-Sesame Sauce.
Mirchi, in Hindi, means chillies/peppers - any type, and in any form.
Salan is Hyderabadi lingo for a creamy curry or sauce.
Hyderabadi cuisine differs significantly from other Indian cuisines, because of its Persian, Arabic and Turkish influences, combined with local ingredients like rice, chillies, lentils, peanuts and spices.
Hyderabad is noted for its outstanding meat dishes like Biryani, Haleem and Marag. It also has some signature vegetarian dishes like Qabuli, Baghare Baingan, and Mirchi ka Salan.
Though we have – to borrow Inji‘s phrase – ‘turmeric-stained Indian blood’, you won’t find too many curries on this site. A reader even mentioned that once.
A ‘curry‘ in India, is any wet accompaniment to rice or breads. It is a generic term and does not refer to any particular combination of spices or ingredients. (More about ‘curry’ HERE)
There are many coconut-, yogurt- or herb-based gravies that don’t require frying onions and tomatoes or roasting spices. A whir in the blender, and they’re halfway there. We dig those. (Like Erissheri)
Then there are the orangey-brown ones – the types that one finds in restaurants.
Let’s admit it. Those are a lot of work.
Roast the spices. Then grind them up. Then watch the onions as they ohhhh soooooooooooo sloooowly curl up and caramelise. Add tomatoes. Repeat. Add other ingredients, then stir, and watch the dish inch towards its final avataar at the pace of flowing ketchup.
In the end, our house and the clothes in our closet smell like Delhi Durbaar.
Then wash the blender jar and forty other utensils, and clean spice splatters off our walls. Yeah, our parents and grandparents did it on a regular basis, but they had patience, and saw the point behind it all.
We don’t.
They also had a bai to come over daily and do the dishes and clean the walls and floors. And a dhobi to do their laundry.
Plus, they weren’t masochists who had a blog and felt the compelling need to photograph everything they made.
We love orangey-brown curries if someone else makes them. There are a handful of these, though, that we prepare – maybe once in six months – ‘cos they are so darn tasty.
Like matar paneer. And mirchi ka salan. These are totally worth the effort.
Like the Mexican mole, mirchi ka salan lets one appreciate the subtle sweetness, variety and complexity of chillies – not just the hotness with which they are normally associated.
This dish has chillies in two forms. As the star ingredient, they are seeded and roasted/fried for a rich, smoky flavour. In this recipe, milder varieties like Bhavnagri chillies (similar to anaheims), green bell pepers (known as capsicums in India) or jalapenos are used.
The cayenne powder (known as ‘chilli powder’ in India) lends heat.
This recipe is Tarla Dalal’s and appears in two of her books that we own – Swadisht Subzian (literally translates to ‘Tasty Vegetables’ ), and Curries and Kadhis. We have made this dish numerous times with good results.
This was the first Tarla Dalal recipe we ever tried. We followed the recipe to the letter and added 2 tsps cayenne (chilli) powder. Bad, bad idea.
Since then, we always halve the amount of chillies – fresh or dried – in her recipes. We’re wimps, and not going to apologise for it. We even *** gasp *** add a teaspoon of sugar to this recipe sometimes to round off the flavours.
A traditional Hyderabadi salan is made in a shallow wide copper or brass pot called ‘handi‘. The pot is sealed with dough, and kept on low fire to stew the peppers in the rich sauce, with all the flavours trapped inside.
For a variation, replace the chilies with cut corn on the cob, for Makai ka Salan.
MIRCHI KA SALAN
Adapted from this recipe
2 cups mild green chillies or bell peppers, deseeded, pith removed and cut into thick strips (we used jalapenos)
**DO NOT leave the seeds and pith on unless you have a fire engine parked outside
1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek (methi) seeds
1/4 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)
6 curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons coriander-cumin seed powder
1 teaspoon cayenne (chilli) powder (or to taste)
1 tablespoon tamarind pulp
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
4 tablespoons oil
salt to taste
Set 1
Roast on the stovetop or microwave (30-40 seconds) and powder
2 tablespoons peanuts
2 tablespoons light brown or white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
Set 2
Grind to a smooth paste
6 cloves garlic
1/2 inch piece ginger
½ cup onions, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh grated coconut (or dry, unsweetened)
1. Fry the deseeded chilli strips in hot oil until they turn whitish in colour. Remove and keep aside.
2. In the same oil, add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds and curry leaves.
3. When the seeds crackle, add the paste in Set 2 and cook for 2 minutes. Add the turmeric powder, coriander-cumin seed powder, chilli powder and powder in Set 1. Cook over a medium flame, stirring continuously until the oil separates.
(For a shortcut, you can grind set 1 and set 2 ingredients together)
4. Add 2 cups of water and tamarind pulp and bring it to a boil.
5. Add the fried green chillies, coriander and salt and simmer until the gravy thickens.
6. Check the seasonings. Add more tamarind if you need to. Depending on the type of chillies used, we may add a tsp of sugar towards the end.
Traditionally, this is served with rice. We had ours with crusty homemade bread.
Filed Under: Chillies/Peppers, Cilantro/Coriander Leaves, Coconut, coriander, cumin, Garlic, Ginger, hyderabad, Hyderabadi-cuisine, jalapeno, kalonji, mirch-ka-salan, mirchi-ka-salan, nigella-seeds, Onion/Shallot, Peanut/Groundnut, Sesame Seeds, Tomato, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes
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42 Comments
Loved it Bee. Gr8 entry and awsome salan. :yes:
Looks like the one we get in restaurants. So rich. First I thought it had cashews in it. My tastebuds are tingling already. Nice dish bee.
Salan looks mouth watering. Curry can be interchanged with stew.. now that’s an eye-opener…I’m heading to make curry now!
That looks so rich and creamy. Very tempting picture.
oh my! that salan is soo droolworthy…bookmarking this..thnks for sharing
You still didn’t manage to roll rotis? I see a loaf :O
I love that you always do a wonderful write up with your work. So much info, such beautiful pictures and delicious recipes.
i love chilli curry but have’nt tryed to make at home your recipe looks simple and wonderful have to try this asusual beautiful pics
It looks delicious. If i coudl rech that bowl i would have take a piec of bread and dipped into it. Yumm.
And about the curry , when i first came here in Belgium some the belgian friends used to tell me oh i love the Indian curry sauce and i was like hey what is that we don’t have curry sauce in India. And they will be looking at me and i can imagine what they were thinking. Now is she from India or not
Slightly off topic…From many days I had this doubt..what a real “curry” means. I always thought curry is wet dish. Then I started blogging…50% of the blogs would call a wet dish as curry and another 50 would call a dry veggie dish as curry
. So for sometime I even stopped using the word “curry” in my posts and used “gravy”. Any thoughts on this Bee??? I am just wondering how this difference has come in our Indian cuisine.
Your pictures look superb as usual
. I loved the photo with bell pepper in it.
Ok…i checked the link you have provided and got a clarification…forget abt my previous question
.
Mirchi Ka Salan, Baghare Baingan.. and you can always think about Hyderabad, known for its rich aromatic delicacies ! I like this very known Salan to be Masaledaar and spicy
Me being a Hyderabadi, i and my loved ones always have a craving for masaledaar Salan, so these kind of processes which you said about , where onion needs to be fried, grinded, the spices dry roasted, and then the whole mixture to be nicely ‘Bhuno’ed(it means the stage where the oil begins to separate from the mixture being cooked) are very common in my house, i make dishes like these atleast two times a week 
, and like you said they are always worth the effort !
I saw ‘mirchi’ and began to sweat
… I would need several fire engines 
….but then I saw that even bell peppers could be used, and I was relieved :yes:
Love mirchi ka salan! The first picture is really great!
Ahhh Mirchi Ka Salan. I am in Hyderabad, and every friday, we are served Biriyani as the main course in office. This curry is always an accompaniment and I wonder invariably about the sweet tinge. Didnt know it is so much work. The first pic is terrific!!
Those are some drop dead gorgeous pictures! This salan seems to be worth every bit of effort! Thanks for the recipe
Your pictures make up for the fact that the food in it can’t be tasted. Love the neww look to your blog.
Awesome Jai n Bee.. My MIL( mother in law ) is from Hyderabad and she did the same way.. havent had it for so long. Looking at your post now, i am so tempted to cook it right now, but the sad part i dont have big long chillies or jalapenos on hand… and the pics.. simply superb!!!
Bee, what is the container in the first pic? I like, whatever it is!
we’re not quite sure what it is either. – b.
A spoon of sugar in no way contributes to the so called wimpiness.
A bit of sugar does round of the flavours.
The pics look lovely!!! and thanx for a hyderabadi recipe…. I ahve a few friends coming over tomorrow and they r from hyd. They will love this….
Oh, you two SO lucked out with that recipe! Mine said to definitely NOT seed the chiles and although I love it (I froze most of it in small portions to enjoy at whim), it is so darned hot that I get a buzz from it. Will def try yours next round.
salan looks very creamy. And i loved the first picture with mirchi’s..looks like they are all going for a ride on a bus :laugh:
Hi Bee,
its been a while i dint visit ur site. lovely set up loved it. Ofcourse the mirchi ka salan out of the world.. lobvely presentation.. :yes:
Love this dish and used to make it a lot! Haven’t seen “bajji mologais” here so need to look and make this once again.
I prefer Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipe over Tarla Dalal’s – tried both and made that decision so many years ago that I dont even remember why!
What I do remember is the awesome creamy gravy, the spiciness of the chillies and the nuttiness of the sesame seeds and peanuts!
Aaah!!! Love Mirchi ka salan!!! Awesome curry! I like it with plain rice, roti an deven bread!! YUM!!! I use a mixture of chillies and bell peppers ( red bell pepper goes well to!)
This is such an interesting recipe. I’ll have mine with rice thank you.
Muh mein pani aa gaya! :tongue: subhe subhe
I remember trying this with sweet peppers a long time ago…I think I should re-visit the dish. It’s time.
Mirchi Ka Salan is my all time favorite curry Bee..
.. being a hyderabadi.. ‘My dil goess yummmmmmmmm’ for the curry!.. and the pics looks fab as usual..
~ Siri ;;)
A very impressive post, Bee! The recipe sounds amazing!!! a must try!.
now that is a cute car!
Hello Jai and Bee,
I stumbled on your blog when I googled for a mirchi ka salan recipe. Wow! Your recipe tasted great. Only change I made was substitute cashews instead of peanuts (for the people who have a peanut allergy). It was still amazing! Plan to make it again this week and as freqently as time permits in the future. Thanks!
Jai and Bee ,Salan looks spicy hot and i’m trying it for Tried and tasted event. btw i’m a hyderabadi, ate this salan many times before and excited to try your version of this recipe.
Hi, Jai and Bee.
Mirchi ka saalan is often served in Hyderabad as a side dish with biryani on special occasions. More often than not, I find myself eating it with bread, foregoing the biryani altogether. It’s a delicious recipe, but one that I do not make often; I may have cooked it 3 times in the last 4 years (scandalous for a Hyderabadi, what?) You’re doing great if you’re cooking it once in 6 months. Love your blog, btw.
This is Awsome! A&N have cooked this for the Zlamushka’s TT event, linked here from there. The container for the chillies and the photo is fantastic!
I had friends over for dinner last night and I made Mirchi Ka Salan…I was bold to make a never-tried-before dish for 6 guests. But I was confident in your site and this recipe. I used green peppers (mild) from the locakl ACME store. And yes..as much as I thought…it was an instant hit! Everybody loooved it.
Verdict – My friends told me to make it again for a baby shower potluck party coming shortly.
Thankyou for the recipe.
Tried it today, came out great. Didnt grind onions and tomatoes though, chopped and wilted it. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe.
made it for frends…came out fantastic….everyone loved it…its a must try …go ahead…u gonna love it !!!!!
Keep up the great work…!!!
When I tried it, the paste in set 2 got v.bitter even after I fried it in oil for more than 2 min. The bitterness didn’t go inspite of adding a little extra tamarind pulp/sugar. I used red onions. Any suggestions/tips for next time ?
Hi there !!
Hv been readoing ur blog since sometime now but never posted a comment ….. tried the mirchi ka salan today n twas lip-smacking delicious …. lv ur blog the info that u provide n the droolable pics …. thanx coz v hd a wonderful lunch with mirchi salan, chapathi n beetroot salad
[...] ka salan from the authentic Hyderabadi cuisine was easily spotted by hyderabadi ME on Jungalbandi , to try for the Zlamuska’s Tried and tasted event. I remember eating this salan in countless [...]