Mirchi ka salan recipe | How to make Hyderabadi mirchi ka salan for biryani
Mirchi ka salan is the popular and the traditional spicy curry which originates from Hyderabad, Capital of Telangana. It is served as a spicy side dish with Biryani which is typically prepared on all occasions and Muslim weddings. The popular mirchi ka salan is prepared from long & mild green chillies used for making bhajjis. Usually, salan refers to curry recipes.
Hyderabadi salan curry is prepared with mild green chillies in a rich & healthy paste of dry roasted peanut & sesame seeds based gravy. This peanut and sesame seeds paste tones down the hotness and spice level of mirchis. To give the salan a sweet & tangy taste, tamarind or imli pulp and a piece of jaggery are added to the curry and simmered on low flame for few minutes. This recipe yields a nice and spicy, creamy, and slightly sweet & tangy curry.
Salan curry pairs very well with any variety of Biryani. It can also be paired with veg pulao or even sometimes with plain steamed rice. Most of the time at home, I always prefer jeera rice over biryani recipe. Personally, we are not a big fan of biryani. So, whenever I make any salan recipe at home, we accompany it with either veg pulao or jeera rice.
Hyderabadi Mirchi ka salan recipe for biryani with step by step photos & Videos:
In Hyderabad, be it a home feast or in a restaurant, one cannot have biryani without this curry. They both go hand in hand. If you are looking for other salan recipes besides this recipe, you can go for Bhindi ka salan, capsicum salan, Bagara Baingan, etc.
Though the preparation for the salan ka recipe is simple, there are few things to be considered for a perfect salan ka recipe. Firstly, use the long and wide green chillies which are less spicy and hot. If you are cooking for children, I would recommend you to deseed it. Otherwise, you can use as it is if you can bare the spiciness of chillies. Secondly, to make an authentic salan recipe, make the gravy from roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, and coconut. Lastly, the consistency of the salan should be towards semi-thick and not watery. Adjust the consistency of salan, by adding more or little water.
Mirchi ka salan recipe Card
Mirchi ka salan recipe
Materials
For mirchi ka salan:
- 6 - 7 Long green chillies less spicy
- ¼ cup Cooking oil
- 1 tsp Rai/ Mustard seeds
- 2 medium Onions finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste or grated
- 1 tsp Lal mirch/ Red chilli powder
- 1 tsp Haldi/ Turmeric powder
- Salt as per taste
- ½ cup Imli/ Tamarind pulp
- ½-inch Gur/ Jaggery piece
- 1 cup Water or as required
For making Salan masala:
- 1 bowl Peanuts
- ½ bowl Safed til or white sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp Dhaniya or coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp Jeera/ Cumin seeds
- 1 bowl Dry coconut slices
- 7 - 8 Dried red chillies
Instructions
For making mirchi ka salan masala:
- Heat a thick wide bottom pan or kadhai, and add peanuts. Saute till you see the cracks in the peanuts and are slightly browned.
- Then, add white sesame seeds, coriander seeds and cumin seeds in the kadhai. Saute for few seconds on medium-low flame.
- Now, add dried coconut slices and dried red chillies and saute all the ingredients together for 3 to 4 minutes till all the ingredients turn aromatic and golden brown in colour.
- Transfer the roasted ingredients in the bowl or on a plate and let it cool down to room temperature.
- Once the ingredients are cooled down, transfer the mixture into the blender and add water in batches till you see a thick paste is formed.
- Keep this paste aside into the bowl and clean the blender by adding a cup of water and do not discard the water. You can add this in the salan.
For preparing green chillies:
- Rinse and clean the long green chillies and wipe it with the kitchen towel. Now, take 1 chilli and make an incision vertically but do not tear them in two pieces.
- Now, with the help of a small spoon or with your fingers, deseed the chillies. Similarly, prepare all the chillies in the same way.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in the same pan in which ingredients were dry roasted.
- When the oil is hot enough, lower the flame and add all the green chillies into the kadhai.
- Saute on low-medium flame till it gets charred spots from one side and then flip and fry from another side.
- Once done from all the sides, remove the shallow fried green chillies on the kitchen towel & keep aside.
For making mirchi ka salan curry:
- In the same pan, heat ¼ cup Cooking oil and add 1 tsp of rai/ mustard seeds. Saute till the mustard seeds crackle.
- Add finely chopped onions and saute till it turns translucent and golden brown in colour.
- Then add a tbsp of grated ginger and garlic and saute till the raw smell of garlic goes off.
- Then add red chilli powder, haldi and salt as per taste and mix all the ingredients. Saute well for few seconds.
- Then, add the ground peanut - sesame seeds paste into the kadhai and saute nicely for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Cover & cook for some time and saute in between to prevent the masala from sticking to the bottom.
- When the oil separates from the masala add the tamarind pulp and jaggery piece. Add a cup of water and combine well, till you get the desired consistency.
- Again cover & cook for 2 to 3 minutes and when it starts boiling add the shallow fried green chillies and stir it gently with the gravy.
- Cover with the lid and cook on low flame for 2 more minutes, so that green chillies will absorb all the flavours from the masala.
- Turn the flame off and the spicy mirchi ka salan is ready to be served hot with biryani.
Video
Step by step instructions:
For making mirchi ka salan masala:
- Heat a thick wide bottom pan or kadhai, and add peanuts. Saute till you see the cracks in the peanuts and are slightly browned.
- Then, add white sesame seeds, coriander seeds and cumin seeds in the kadhai. Saute for few seconds on medium-low flame.
- Now, add dried coconut slices and dried red chillies and saute all the ingredients together for 3 to 4 minutes till all the ingredients turn aromatic and golden brown in colour.
- Transfer the roasted ingredients in the bowl or on a plate and let it cool down to room temperature.
- Once the ingredients are cooled down, transfer the mixture into the blender and add water in batches till you see a thick paste is formed.
- Keep this paste aside into the bowl and clean the blender by adding a cup of water and do not discard the water. You can add this in the salan.
For preparing green chillies:
- Rinse and clean the long green chillies and wipe it with the kitchen towel. Now, take 1 chilli and make an incision vertically but do not tear them in two pieces.
- Now, with the help of a small spoon or with your fingers, deseed the chillies. Similarly, prepare all the chillies in the same way.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in the same pan in which ingredients were dry roasted.
- When the oil is hot enough, lower the flame and add all the green chillies into the kadhai.
- Saute on low-medium flame till it gets charred spots from one side and then flip and fry from another side.
- Once done from all the sides, remove the shallow fried green chillies on the kitchen towel & keep aside.
For making mirchi ka salan curry:
- In the same pan, heat ¼ cup Cooking oil and add 1 tsp of rai/ mustard seeds. Saute till the mustard seeds crackle.
- Add finely chopped onions and saute till it turns translucent and golden brown in colour.
- Then add a tbsp of grated ginger and garlic and saute till the raw smell of garlic goes off.
- Then add red chilli powder, haldi and salt as per taste and mix all the ingredients. Saute well for few seconds.
- Then, add the ground peanut – sesame seeds paste into the kadhai and saute nicely for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Cover & cook for some time and saute in between to prevent the masala from sticking to the bottom.
- When the oil separates from the masala add the tamarind pulp and jaggery piece. Add a cup of water and combine well, till you get the desired consistency.
- Again cover & cook for 2 to 3 minutes and when it starts boiling add the shallow fried green chillies and stir it gently with the gravy.
- Cover with the lid and cook on low flame for 2 more minutes, so that green chillies will absorb all the flavours from the masala.
- Turn the flame off and the spicy mirchi ka salan is ready to be served hot with biryani.
Important tips for making Mirchi ka salan:
- First and most importantly, use oil and spices in a generous amount. Do not skimp on using oil, as it helps to cook masala thoroughly and also helps in digestion.
- If making for kids, use the long and wide green chillies which are less spicy and hot.
- To remove the spiciness from the chillies, deseed it before shallow frying.
- Add water in batches to the gravy to prevent it from going to flowy consistency, salan tastes good in semi-thick consistency.
- You can also use tomatoes or thick curd instead of tamarind pulp, to enhance the sour taste.
- Finally, serve the hot & spicy Hyderabadi style mirchi ka salan with either Biryani, Veg pulao or jeera rice.
Finally, I would like to share my other veg Curry recipes from my blog. This includes Dum aloo recipe, Paneer kadhai recipe, Mushroom kadhai gravy recipe, Matar Jhol recipe, spicy misal pav recipe, matar ke chole recipe, etc. Also, go through our Indian bread section for a variety of rotis like Butter naan recipe, palak paratha recipe, kachori recipes and thalipeeth recipe. In addition to this, do visit my other recipes collection from my blog like Main course collection, Breakfast collection, Desserts collection, etc.
Wow! Real Hyderabadi spicy mirchi ka salan. I like it with biryani !