HYDERABADI MIRCH KA SALAN

Hyderabadi Mirch Ka Salan is basically a delicacy or a dish served in all the parts of Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh as a side dish with Hyderabadi Biryani. It is mainly prepared using peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut and tamarind pulp. Once when I got the opportunity to visit Hyderabad, I tried the Hyderabadi Mirch Ka Salan there for the first time and find it delicious. So I tried it home and below is the Recipe for the Mirch ka Salan.

INGREDIENTS:

For Masala:
¼ cup desiccated coconut
2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
¼ cup roasted peanuts
1 medium-sized sliced onion
1/2 inch ginger
2-3 garlic cloves
½ tsp red chilli powder, garam masala powder and turmeric powder

For Curry (Salan):
12-15 green chillies should be medium spicy
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
1.5 to 2 cups of water
½ tsp cumin seeds, mustard seeds and kalonji
8-10 curry leaves
Salt to taste
½ tsp jaggery(optional)
4-5 tbsp oil
For Garnishing:
Coriander Leaves

METHOD:

For making Masala Paste-
Take a pan and keep it on a flame. Firstly put sliced onion and allow it to roast till it becomes light brown then add desiccated coconut and roast it too. Later add peanuts and sesame seeds, after a minute or two. Remove it from flame and allow to cool for few minutes. Then take this mixture in a grinder and add garlic, ginger and spice powder (mentioned in Masala ingredients) before making the paste. Then make a fine paste by adding little water.

For preparing Curry-
Firstly remove the chilly seeds(can also keep it intact depending on the spiciness). Rinse it and wipe it thoroughly. Slit the chillies vertically without cutting it completely. Roast the chillies till light brown by keeping oil in a pan and then drain them on a tissue.

Further in the same pan add some more oil then add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and kalonji one by one. Add curry leaves and fry it for a minute. Then add the grinded masala paste. Allow it to cook for another 5-7 minutes till the oil starts separating from the paste. Then add tamarind pulp, jaggery and salt and mix them well and then add 2 cups of water and continue to boil for more 10-15 minutes on slow flame.

Further add the fried chillies, cover it and allow it to cook on slow flame for another 5-6 minutes and then off the flame. Lightly spiced, Creamy and slightly tangy Hyderabadi Mirch Ka Salan is ready. Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve it with Hyderabadi veg biryani or even plain cooked rice. One can also have Mirch ka salan with chapatis or rotis.

TIP:
If the chillies are too hot remove the seeds from the chillies to lower the hotness. The gravy thickens as it cooks so you can add more water to lower the thickness or to make the consistency of the Curry proper. You can add curd or tomato paste instead of tamarind pulp to get the sourness. To make the Hyderabadi Mirch Ka Salan tastier use a generous amount of oil and spices.