Chillies.. a necessary ingredient in Indian Cooking... and so thinking of a dish that uses chillies was not really difficult, but selecting A particular dish.. was difficult. Finally I, zeroed in on MIRCHI KA SALAN.. a dish where MIRCHI was the focus, and more importantly, it was a dish I had not tried earlier. I had seen some ready to cook pack 'Kitchens of India' brand I guess.. intrigued by the name, I almost picked it up, but later hesitatingly put it back.. I was not into blogging at that point of time and well, the mind was not as open to experiments as now! The idea however lingered, and then I started collecting recipes.. and so pulling out my SUPER heavy file, I flipped pages over pages (of recipes collected, but not tried) till I came to a bunch , neatly stapled and labeled "MIRCHI KA SALAN"- Hyderabad Special. I had about 10 different versions, so I finally picked out one,and decided to make this with slight variations to suit my taste.
Ideally Mirchi Ka Salan is served with Biryani, but I like it just as well with plain Rice , Paratha and ...~sheepish grin~ sliced bread as well!
My variation to the standard salan was I added Green and Red Bell Pepper to the Serrano chillies. I simply love the slightly sweet and smoky flavour of the red bell pepper and it blended well with the salan.
Here is my adaption of Mirchi Ka Salan:
3 Serrano Chillies
1/2 (each) Green and Red Bell Pepper, cut in chunks
1 Med. size Onion
1/2 tsp Tamarind Concentrate
Small lump Jaggery (optional, I like sweet-sour taste and so I added it- NOT a part of the original recipe)
1/4 tsp Mustard seeds/ Rai
Few Curry Leaves
Oil
1-2 cloves
For the Paste:
3Tbsp Dessicated Coconut
3 Tbsp. Roasted Peanuts
~2 Tbsp Sesame/ Til
2 Tbsp. Corriander seeds/ Dhania seeds
4 Peppercorns
3-4 Dry Red chillies
Do the Prep:
Slit the green chilli (do not cut into 2), deseed
Chop the bell pepper into chunks
Roast the ingredients for the Paste in just a drop or 2 of oil.. let it cool before grinding
Chop the Onion and saute till golden brown, cool and grind to a paste.
Shallow fry the green chilli and the pepper chunks till you see blisters on it.
Heat 1 tsp oil, add the mustard seeds. After they pop, add the curry leaves and cloves.
Add the onion paste and stir well. Add the Salan Paste, mix thoroughly and cook for 2 mins, stirring continuously on a medium flame.If the paste sticks to the pan, add some water and cook well.
Add the tamarind concentrate, jaggery and cook for about 3-4 mins, till the gravy thickens.
Add salt, chillies & pepper chunks. Mix well and cook for a minute.
Serve with Biryani, Paratha, plain Rice... Yummy
* I chickened out at the last moment and removed the dry red chillies before grinding the paste, thinking that the Serrano chillies would make my hair stand on the end!! but made a mistake there. My adaptation of the salan was VERY tasty, but not fiery! But those who want to enjoy this side dish without smoking at the ears, all I have to say is, go right ahead!
This is my entry for JFI CHILLIES, hosted by our own Nandita !! Thank U Nandita for a wonderful choice of ingredient!
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This is my entry for JFI CHILLIES, hosted by our own Nandita !! Thank U Nandita for a wonderful choice of ingredient!
