Dahi Mirchi with Pequin Peppers

One good thing about Houston’s radiant weather is I could do my culinary sun salutations with ease.

Here is a traditional Bharath culinary sun salutation with Mexican pequin peppers. I bought a small pequin pepper plant last year from FBMG. It survived the snowy winter and now thriving with fresh growth and abundant fruit. A general rule of thumb with mirchis is the smaller the mirchi, the hotter it tends to be. It’s no exception for pequin peppers. The itty-bitty pequin peppers pack a punch both fresh and sun-dried as dahi mirchi. I started adding them to tadka that we season the daals and curries. Salty, sour and hot, dahi pequin peppers are a real treat.

This age-old Bharath technique of preserving the chillies in dahi is easy. The process needs some patience and lots of sunshine. Here is the photo pictorial.


Fully Mature Pequin Pepper on 5 Rupee Coin


Add a cup of pequin peppers to a cup of dahi (Indian Yogurt). Mix a tablespoon of salt. Keep uncovered for three days on the kitchen countertop. Stir once a day. Dahi acts like preserving agent here.


Drain the dahi and reserve the pequin peppers. Spread them on a cloth and sun dry under hot afternoon sun until they are completely dry. Takes about 2 to 3 days depending on the sunshine.


Salty, Sour and Spicy ~ Sun-dried Dahi Pequin Peppers


Sun-dried Dahi Pequin Peppers ~ Toasted in Tadka

From Yesteryears:
More about Dahi Mirchi (Majjiga Mirapa)
Dahi Mirchi with Cayenne

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21 Responses to “Dahi Mirchi with Pequin Peppers”

  1. Shoba says:

    Oh wow,

    Droool…looks so amazing and mouth watering…almost like our equivalent to “thayir molaga”…I specially love your tadka vessel…with the little spout to pour out the ingredients…Is it a heritage vessel passed on from ur mom? Or is it new???

    Shobha

  2. Kiran says:

    Looks so delicious and first time seeing a pequin pepper.

  3. Sudha says:

    Wow, Indira garu! Bulli bulli mirapa kaayalu bhale andamga vunnayi populo. Regular mirapa kayalni theesi pakkana pettinatlu kaakunda, veetini thineyyochchu enchakka!!!

  4. Sanjeeta kk says:

    Beautiful article. Never seen this pepper before. Its fun to drop here often for such surprising treats!

  5. Suman Singh says:

    never seen pequin pepper before..they looks so cute..liked the step by step pictorial..

  6. Gini says:

    Cool pictorial.

  7. Looks so good! I never would have thought of preserving the pequin peppers…Great idea! Wish I lived next door to you…

  8. Sonia says:

    This pepper variety is new to me. Good to know about new variety. Good pictorial. 🙂

  9. Narayan says:

    I agree with Shoba’s comment – it is drool worthy, and like Suman Singh, I have never seen a pequin pepper. But if it is like the standrad Thair Molagai that many Tamilians are familiar with, then I can imagine how tasty these will be.

    Thanks.

  10. Woww… wonderful idea.. very creaive !!

  11. Maya says:

    I have never seen this type of pepper before. I love curd cured chillies. Thank you for sharing.

  12. Rachana says:

    Hi Indira,
    It is really smart of you to place the pepper on a 5 rupee coin. Its a really tiny pepper. I absolutely love dahi mirchi! Looks delicious!

  13. Vandya says:

    Indira, i have never heard of such peppers before.Do they taste like the green peppers that we get in the south India?

  14. Pavani says:

    Very cute peppers. They look like peanuts after drying. Interesting to know so many varieties of vegetables around the world. Thanks to Internet and enthusiastic people like you.

  15. The first picture on the 5 Rupee coin is fantastic. Is ths the same as Manathakkali / ‘Kamanchi Chettu’ (courtesy google)

  16. Kay says:

    Looks cute and tempting. I saw some of these at central market, now I am going to attempt to buy some.

  17. Aparna says:

    So sorry to your article, the picture is too too good to even go thru the write up 🙂 let me read now..

  18. Indira says:

    Thanks all for your comments.
    This is my second year with pequin peppers. They are still new and I wanted to show how itty-bitty these cuties are. They are very hot mirchi. Just one is enough to turn the cheeks red.

    Hi Shoba: Thanks. You could say it is a heritage vessel, because it’s been with me for almost ten years. Purchased it here in one of those local camping stores.

  19. Mona says:

    Indira, those peppers are so tiny!

  20. Deepa says:

    Love it! Will try to get this pepper. Else planning to try this with regular chillies. The description and pics brought back the taste of Mor Molaga:)

    Thanks, Deepa. Regular chillies are perfect for mor molaga.:)
    -Indira

  21. Sue Lovegren says:

    I live in South Texas. We have several chili pequin plants on our property here in San Benito, Texas. I am curious as to why the green pepper shown was described as “mature”. The chili pequin plants here are bright red when they reach full maturity.
    This is a very interesting recipe and I am anxious to try this method of preserving the pequins. Thank you very much.

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