SALLA MIRAPAKAYALU, also known as buttermilk/curd chilies is one of the most loved pantry items from South Indian Kitchens. Now buttermilk chilies don’t refer to some kind of chilies, but it’s a preservation process. Mildly spicy chilies are slit and soaked in buttermilk, and then sun-dried during the day. This process is repeated for about a week until the chilies absorb as much buttermilk cure as possible and the chilies are dried to a crisp by the sun.
During this preservation process, the chilies develop a tangy, yogurty, salty, and slightly cheesy flavor. These flavor packed Buttermilk chilies make a great accompaniment with mild dishes like Curd rice, Dal rice, Sambar rice, etc. But hey your options aren’t just limited to that, you can add these buttermilk chilies to the tempering. Imagine the ton of flavor it would impart in tempering of chutneys or raita and Dal tadka.
The sign of a perfectly made Salla mirapakaya is that when you break a fried one it should crumble easily. Less spicy, little salty, and tangy is the perfect definition for this Salla mirapakayalu. I know that the process seems a little intimidating for beginners, but trust me this is one of the easiest processes you could ever make.
A tradition of making sun-dried vegetables
When Summer is here, then begins the tradition of making of Wadiyalu/Papads/fryums. And apart from that we also Sun-dry vegetables, fruits, seeds which have been in our culinary tradition for ages. When there is an excess of produce, our ancestors came up with ways to utilize them smartly. So that they come in handy on a rainy day.
They are equally healthy as the process which they undergo like pickling, drying, marinating, and curing which makes it even more delicious. The tiring scenarios of the womenfolk in the scorching Sun bring out the best goodies in their pantry. These sun-dried goodies appear out of nowhere during mealtime.
More avatars of these SALLA MIRAPAKAYALU / Buttermilk chilies
These yogurt/curd/buttermilk-soaked chilies are inseparable from the menu of South Indian Cuisine mainly because of their spicy taste. Now call these buttermilk chilies or we Telugu people call it Oora Mirapakayalu, majjiga mirapakayalu, uppu mirapakayalu. Mor milagai in Tamil, Sandige menasu in Kannada, Dahi Mirchi in Hindi, Dahi ke mirchiyaan in Dakhani, Mahi mircha in Chhattisgarh region and Takla mirsang in Konkan region. The beauty of diverse cuisines across India, one dish with many names.
With diverse cuisines across India, these buttermilk chilies come in various flavors across the country. Some stuff the chilies with spices like carom seeds, fenugreek powder, etc. And they add another layer of flavor profile to these chilies.
Checkout more traditional Indian recipes from my blog.
SALLA MIRAPAKAYALU
Ingredients
- 250 gms Green chilies Mildly spicy ones
- 2 cups Sour curd
- 4 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Water
Instructions
- Wash and slit the green chillies and keep it aside.250 gms Green chilies
- Pour the sour curd in a wide container. Add salt, and water and whisk it.2 cups Sour curd, 4 tsp Salt, 1 cup Water
- Now add in slit green chilies to the buttermilk mixture. Cover the container and let it sit for 2-3 days.Note : Just give a shake and stir once a day.
- On the fourth day, strain the buttermilk from chillies using a slotted spoon, place them in a plate and dry in the sun.
- At night put back all the green chillies in the reserved buttermilk and cover them.
- And then repeat the above two steps for next two days. Later discard the buttermilk mixture.
- Later dry the chillies in the sun for 7 days.
- These well dried chillies can be stored in an airtight container and can be deep fried before eating with rice.
Frying the SALLA MIRAPAKAYALU
- Heat oil in a pan, add the sundried salla mirapakayalu/buttermilk chilies to the oil.
- Fry for 10 secs and place them on a paper towel.
- Serve the fried salla mirapakayalu/buttermilk chilies with curd rice or dal rice. You can add the chilies to tadka/tempering too.
Notes
- The salt in the buttermilk should be on heavy side, as that's what helps the chilies in preservation.
- You can place these buttermilk chilies in a ziploc and place it in freezer to keep them fresh for longer time.
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