Mirchi Kaa Saalan

[Suvir Saran]

I ate Mirchi Kaa Saalan (chilies in a curry sauce) today.

Do you know it?  Make it?  

Is it made at a restaurant near you?

[Miss J]

I ate Mirchi Kaa Saalan (chilies in a curry sauce) today.

Do you know it?  Make it?  

Is it made at a restaurant near you?

Don't tease us, Suvir - what all was it? What were its flavours? What did you eat it with?

And nooooooo, I haven't had it or made it. But now I'm very, very curious about it...  

Miss J

[Suvir Saran]

Where do you live Miss J?  Tell me about you.. Do you eat a lot of Indian food… do you cook Indian food?

And no I was not teasing.

Mirchi Ka Saalan/Salan is a curry from Hyderabad, in Southern India.

Mirchi (chili pepper) and saalan would typically mean a style of curry (sauce).

I make the sauce with a sauté of onions, ginger and some garlic.  Fry them till they are a light brown in color.  To this I add a paste of ground Indian poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, peanuts and coconut.  Add a very little amount of turmeric and a stalk of curry leaves.  Fry for another minute or two.  Then I add some yogurt and fry till the moisture is evaporated.  If you want the sauce even sourer, you can add some tamarind paste or water.

Once the sauce is of desired consistency, I add to it a mixture of hot and sweet chili peppers that I have blanched in hot water to soften and also to make less hot.  I cut the peppers in bite-sized pieces.  I mostly use bell peppers but also add different hot peppers to the mix for flavor and heat.  

Add very little water (tamarind water if using that) or plain, stir to mix the sauce and the chilies and cover and steam for a few minutes to soften the peppers some and also to meld the flavors.

I eat the dish with either biryaanis or even pita bread and some kachumbar (salad of onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and hot peppers in chili spiced lemon juice).

[Miss J]

That sounds amazing...I'm going to give it a try this weekend. I'm sure it will be an evolving process!

I really only "discovered" Indian food when I moved to the UK. I started on formula curries, but was lucky enough to find sources for regional cooking in London and am always looking for new sources of the "real thing."

I try to cook Indian food, although my Indian cookbook range is still pretty small and I'm not entirely sure which sources are the best. (Access to someone's mum would be great, but...) My very nice neighbours,whose background is Pakistani, sometimes will give a few cooking tips over the garden fence - but not that often, as the family members I usually see are the kids.  (And they're more fascinated by my cultural habits - every time we cook on the BBQ, we end up with a row of little faces hanging over the back fence calling, "Why are you cooking your food outside? Are you going to eat it outside too? But WHY?" )

So I'm really into the India board...it's a great source of info. Thanks Suvir!  

Miss J

(edit disclosure: correcting my terrible spelling this morning!)

[Suvir Saran]

Miss J,

Thanks for your kind words.  The India board brings those fans of Indian cooking that really love Indian food.  Members at egullet tend to be very generous with what they know.  I am amazed at their postings around the site.  The India board is no different.

How wonderful it is for a large world community to be able to find out many intricacies about so many different cuisines.  All on one site.  It is a great feeling to be a part of this new but rapidly growing world online.  What makes it special is that egullet is very unique and making a niche all its own.

Keep us all posted on your cooking indulgences.  We look forward to learning from you as you cook more Indian food.

I wish I had some clues as to why the kids wonder if you will eat outside as well.  I certainly had at least a few meals outside every month in India.  It was always a fun thing for us to do.  And we were not alone.  Several family and friends did the same.

[Miss J]

I wish I had some clues as to why the kids wonder if you will eat outside as well.  I certainly had at least a few meals outside every month in India.  It was always a fun thing for us to do.  And we were not alone.  Several family and friends did the same.

I suspect it's just that particular family rather than anything else. It sure intrigues the kids when we're cooking out there, though - they ask questions about EVERYTHING we're doing. They're so puzzled. And I think they also find that seeing my boyfriend do the cooking (as he always does when its outdoors) fascinating...they're all boys, so seeing a grown-up bloke doing anything is interesting to them. Very cute.  

[Suvir Saran]

I think you may have found the answer yourself.  That must be it.

The elders could be talking about it too.. Seeing a grown man cook.. How strange... Wonder what they would say about me?

But the answer to that is in Monsoon Wedding.

But yes, I think seeing your BF cook may be the intriguing thing.  I am glad they have you to expose them to another world.  They are lucky in seeing your life.. And you in being able to get a few cooking tips.

I am sure you will have even more interesting things to share with them and us as you live next to that family longer.

Look forward to hearing about your cooking adventures... Keep us posted.

[Simon Majumdar]

I have not tried this rather wonderful sounding dish, but I have been known to make a paste from chilles fried with a little turmeric and cumin in vegetable oil and then ground down with a few garlic cloves.

This can make a fairly useful starter paste for many indian dishes particularly Goan dishes which need an initial fiery impact.

It is also good smeared on the insides and out of fish which is then sprinkled with lime juice and then grilled.  fantastic

S