A Hyderabadi special, Mirchi Ka Salan is a lightly spiced, creamy and slightly tangy curry made with green chillies in a gravy base of nuts, seeds and aromatics. This dish is a must-have with a Biryani in Hyderabad.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Hyderabadi, Indian

Ingredients

  • 10 to 12 green chilies (or 5 to 6 large sized chillies - which are not of the hot variety)
  • 1 tablespoon tamarind (soaked in ⅓ cup hot water)
  • 1.5 to 2 cups water (or as required)
  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ½ teaspoon nigella seeds ((kalonji))
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 8 to 10 curry leaves
  • 5 tablespoons oil
  • salt (as required)
  • 1 tablespoon coriander leaves ((chopped))
  • ¼ cup desiccated coconut ((unsweetened))
  • ¼ cup peanuts (- roasted)
  • 1.5 tablespoons white sesame seeds
  • ⅓ cup onions (- thinly sliced or 1 medium-sized onion)
  • 2 to 3 garlic cloves ((medium-sized))
  • 1 inch ginger
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder (or cayenne pepper)
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder ((ground turmeric))
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • ½ cup water (- for grinding or add as required)

Method

Preparing masala paste

  1. In a pan add 1 tablespoon oil.
  2. Add sliced onions. Stirring often sauté onions until lightly browned.
  3. Next add the desiccated coconut. Mix and sauté until the coconut turns light golden.
  4. Later, add roasted peanuts and sesame seeds to this mixture and roast for 1 to 2 minutes on low heat
  5. Make a smooth paste of the above roasted mixture with garlic cloves, ginger and all the ground spice powders with ½ cup water.

Make tamarind water

  1. In a small bowl, soak tamarind with ⅓ cup hot water for 20 to 30 minutes.
  2. When the tamarind has softened, squeeze the tamarind pulp in the water in the bowl. Keep the tamarind water aside.

Preparing green chillies

  1. Remove the green chilli crowns or you can also keep them intact.
  2. Rinse and wipe dry the green chillies.
  3. Slit the chillies vertically, but do not break them. You can opt to remove the seeds from the chillies if you prefer.
  4. Heat about 2 tablespoons oil in a pan. Fry the chillies lightly until you see some blisters on them.
  5. Remove and drain on kitchen paper towels.

Making mirchi ka salan

  1. Now, in the same pan add 2 tablespoons oil. Fry the mustard seeds on low heat till they crackle.
  2. Then, add nigella seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Fry for a minute.
  3. Add the ground masala paste. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes on low to medium-low heat or till the oil floats on the top and sides of the masala.
  4. Now, add tamarind pulp and 1.5 or 2 cups water. Stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes on low to medium-low heat.
  5. Add fried green chilies, salt and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes more.
  6. Garnish with coriander leaves.
  7. Serve Mirchi Ka Salan hot with veg biryani, plain steamed rice or any Indian flatbread.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.