Mirchi Ka salan

Ingredients:

1.Onion – 1 large (finely chopped)
2.Banana peppers – 4
3.Garlic – 3 pods
4.Ginger – I inch square
5.Green chili- 2-4
6.Tamarind concentrate – 2-3 tsp

To grind:

1.Peanuts – ½ cup
2.Grated Coconut  – ½ cup
3.Sesame seeds- 2 heaped tbsp
4.Khus Khus/White Poppy seeds – 1 tbsp (optional)

Other spices:

1.Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
2.Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp
3.Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
4.Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
5.Curry leaves - 8-10
6.Cumin powder-1tsp
7.Corriander powder- 1tsp
8.Chili powder- ½ tsp
9.Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
10.Salt to taste

Paste 1: Dry roast peanuts, grated coconut and sesame seeds. Then add a cup of water and grind it smoothly to make a paste.

Paste 2: Grind ginger, garlic and green chili together to make a smooth paste.

1.Saute the peppers in a pan with 2 tsps of oil. Don’t let the peppers get roasted too much.

2.In a sauté pan add 3 tsps of oil. After the oil turns hot add mustard seeds, fenugreek, cumin and fennel seeds. Cook it till the mustard seeds start splattering. Once that’s done add curry leaves and add paste 2 (ginger, garlic and green chili paste).

3.Cook it for a minute and add chopped onion and sauté it till the onion turns golden brown. Then add cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder and salt.

4.Add 3 tsps of tamarind concentrate (if its homemade tamarind paste which is not so concentrated then you can add a little more) and cook it for another 5 minutes.

5.Add paste 1 (peanut, coconut and sesame) and cook it for another 5 minutes. Now add 2-3 cups of water and cook it for a few minutes.

6.Add banana peppers to the gravy and cook it for 15 minutes (low flame) just to let the gravy thicken.