How to make mirchi ka salan at home

Mirchi ka salan is the curry we serve with every biryani, and the recipe guests ask for most. It is not difficult, but it takes patience with the roasting. This makes enough for six.

You need 250 g of long, thick, mild green chillies, the kind sold for bajji. Slit each one down one side without cutting through, remove some seeds if you like it milder, and fry them in 3 tablespoons of oil until blistered. Set them aside.

For the paste, dry-roast 3 tablespoons of raw peanuts, 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon of desiccated coconut on low heat until golden and fragrant, stirring all the time. This takes about eight minutes; burnt sesame turns the whole curry bitter. Add 1 teaspoon each of cumin and coriander seeds for the last minute. Cool and grind to a smooth paste with a little water.

In the same oil, crackle mustard seeds, cumin, a sprig of curry leaves and a pinch of methi seeds. Add one finely chopped onion and cook until soft, then a tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste, half a teaspoon of turmeric and a teaspoon of chilli powder. Stir in the paste and cook on low for ten minutes until the oil separates. Add tamarind pulp from a lemon-sized ball, a teaspoon of jaggery, salt and a cup of water. Slide in the chillies and simmer for five minutes. It tastes better after an hour, and best the next day.