Whenever we go to any restaurants , I secretly pray that the waiter won't ask him, "How spicy do you want the curry or Biryani to be sir??"....but to my dismay , that pray is blissfully ignored and Honey P would say,"Spicy"...."Very spicy"..you know,"Hyderabadi spicy." and I can see the waiter is like ..ohhhkkk sir !!....and when the food arrives ,I can see the Biryani especially garnished with loads of green chillies and I'll be loling and I'll be extremely glad to see that chilled bowl of raita/yogurt sauce on the side . That will be quite a relief for me .But he relishes it somehow sans any complaints not completely but kinda almost .....
However little did I know that being married to an Hyderabad based guy , my preconception and the perception regarding chillies was gonna change A LOT, for he would mention at times about "Mirchi/Chilli" curry quite famous in his Hyderabad . Needless to say,I was totally taken aback,I was like how can someone make a chilli exclusive curry ,it would be darn fiery and how can someone like it or eat it .....anyways,gradually it slipped to the back of my mind .
However,when I visited Indian restaurants in US ,I could see Biryanis being served with raita and a curry that looked darn yummy and which to my utter surprise was none other than the curried chilli pepper curry or famously known as Hyderabad special "Mirchi ka saalan."
I tasted the curry and I could hardly find any fieriness,it looked like a normal curry with long chillies and Hyderabadi touch of course .But then I personally don't like to have it with any biryani per se because for me it spoils the taste of biryani which I believe is a one pot complete meal which hardly needs any accompaniment but raita can be helpful if it is tad spicy . Miya mittu loves it though :D .
So,I make mirchi ka salaan to go with just plain rice or pilaf or roti,naan exclusively.
SO,Mirchi ka saalan is infact made with long big chillies ,spices and peanut-sesame-coconut paste . It is a popular Hyderabadi dish and a dish with a gut-wrenching love affair with the spicy rice plus veg or nonveg dish,Biryani....
This is how I make Mirchi ka salan...
Mirchi Ka Saalan
Ingredients
Long green chillies - 5-8 nos.
Onion,medium,chopped - 1 no.
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
Tomato ,medium , chopped - 1 no.
Chilli powder - 2 teaspoons
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 2 tablespoon
Cumin powder - 1 teaspoon
Garam masala powder - 1 teaspoon
Hing/Asafoetida - a pinch
Tamarind pulp - 2-4 tablespoon
Jaggery - 1 Tablespoon
salt to taste
For tempering
Oil - 3 tablespoons
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Dry red chilli,broken - 2 nos.
Curry leaves - one stalk
To grind
Peanuts - 2 tablespoons
Sesame seeds - 2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Coconut powder - 1 tablespoon
Coriander leaves,chopped - to garnish
Method:
- Wash and slit the long chillies lengthwise and keep it aside.
- Heat a pan ,add a little oil and roast the peanuts followed by sesame seeds which when becomes slight brown ,roast the cumin seeds and coconut powder until it gets light brown.
- Turn the flame off,allow it to cool a bit and then grind them in a blender with little water until it becomes a fine paste.Keep them aside.
- Heat remaining oil into the pan ,splutter mustard seeds first followed by cumin seeds,fenugreek seeds,broken red chillies and curry leaves.Keep the flame low.
- Add hing,sprinkle little salt (to cook onion faster) and add onions ,saute until they become transparent.
- Add ginger-garlic paste,saute until the raw flavor is gone.
- Add tomatoes ,saute until they become soft and mushy.
- Add turmeric powder,cumin powder,chilli powder,coriander powder and garam masala.Saute for a few minutes until everything gets mixed well and oil surfaces .
- Add the ground paste of roasted peanut-sesame-cumin-coconut powder and saute for a while.
- Add the tamarind pulps , jaggery , little more water and salt to taste.Mix everything well.
- Put it on high flame and once it reaches the boiling point,add the slitted long chillies to it.
- Now lower the flame,cover it with lid and let it simmer until the oil oozes out from the gravy.
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves .
- Serve hot with biryani,rice,pilaf,naan,roti ,kulcha etc.
It's chilly outdoor and chilli indoor..How about you ??;)
Eat,Love,Live well,
