Salam to Salan with Banana Peppers: Mirchi Ka Salan

Summer in Houston seems similar to summer in Andhra. If you venture out in the afternoon, you’d sure get a blinding headache from the radiant heat. It is so hot right now, even Tabasco sauce would seem milder. One could cool off with a drink of Tabasco sauce… weatherman joke on local TV. But anyway, to counter the heat with something hotter, I made mirchi-ka-salan with banana peppers from the backyard. Bharathiyan way to keep the cool during hot months. 🙂

Banana Pepper from Backyard

Mirchi Ka Salan with Banana Peppers
(for four adults, for two meals)

Mirchi (Banana Peppers)
10 medium-sized banana peppers
Slice into half and remove the stem, white pitch and seeds. Cut the peppers to bite-sized pieces. (Wear gloves for sensitive skin.)

Salan:

To prepare salan, we need the following ingredients.
1/4 cup peanuts – roasted and skins removed
1/8 cup sesame seeds – toasted
4 dried red chillies (Indian variety)
1 tablespoon – coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon – cumin
4 cloves and 1 thumb length piece of cinnamon
1×1 inch piece of ginger and 2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons thick tamarind pulp
Fry the spices to fragrance on low heat. Take the roasted spices and other ingredients mentioned in the list above in a blender. Add about a cup of water and grind the ingredients to smooth paste. I usually add about a tablespoon of jaggery/sugar to this mix, to bring a mild-sweet flavor to salan paste.

Making of Mirchi ka Salan:

In a pan, heat about a tablespoon of peanut oil. Add the banana peppers. Saute to tender. Add the prepared salan paste. Add about half cup of water and mix. Have a taste, and adjust salt, sour(tamarind), sweet(jaggery) levels to your liking.

Cover the pot and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring in-between. The color of salan sauce darkens and thickens. Mirchi ka Salan will be ready. Taste great with chapati or rice.

Chapati with Banana Pepper Ka Salan

Mirchi Ka Salan with Chapati ~ Meal Today and For JFI:Mirchi at Vysh’s Cardamom

© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari.

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