Peanut Sesame Chili Curry Over Rice
A nutty, sour Hyderabadi gravy rebuilt from powders and packets for one pot at camp.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 18 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- 600 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Gluten free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant rice | 1 1/2 cups dry | |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted groundnuts | 1/3 cup | peanuts, ground coarse at home |
| Sesame seeds | 3 tbsp | toasted at home with the peanuts |
| Unsweetened shredded coconut | 3 tbsp | toasted with the rest |
| Coriander seeds | 1 tsp | toasted, then ground |
| Cumin powder | 1 tsp | |
| Red chilli powder | 1 tsp | |
| Turmeric powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried onion flakes | 1/4 cup | stands in for browned onion paste |
| Ginger powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Tamarind concentrate | 1 tbsp | paste in a small screw-top tube, not the block |
| Dried green chillies or sliced jalapeno rings | 6 whole, or 1/4 cup rings drained | deseed the dried ones |
| Vegetable oil | 3 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Mustard seeds | 1/2 tsp | |
| Cumin seeds | 1/2 tsp | |
| Nigella (onion) seeds | 1/4 tsp | |
| Dried curry leaves | 10 leaves | |
| Salt | 3/4 tsp, or to taste | |
| Brown sugar | 1 tsp | only if the tamarind runs sharp |
Method
- Boil 300 ml of water, pour it over the instant rice in a lidded mug or bag, and set it aside to sit while you cook.
- Heat the oil in the pot over a low flame. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, nigella seeds, and curry leaves. When the mustard starts to pop, about thirty seconds, take the pot off the flame for ten seconds so the leaves do not scorch.
- Add the chillies and fry them in the oil for two minutes, turning once, until the skins blister. Push them to the side.
- Stir in the onion flakes, ginger, garlic, chilli powder, turmeric, and cumin powder. Ten seconds only. Powdered spice burns fast in hot oil.
- Add 300 ml of water, the ground peanut, sesame, coconut, and coriander mix, and the salt. Stir hard so the nut powder does not clump.
- Simmer on low for twelve to fifteen minutes, stirring often. It will go from gritty to thick and smooth. Add splashes of water if it tightens too far.
- Stir in the tamarind. Taste it. If it is sour enough to make you flinch, add the brown sugar.
- Spoon the gravy over the rice.
The original is a stuffed-chilli curry that runs an hour and a half with a blender and a frying pan. What survives the trip is the gravy, and the gravy is really just toasted peanut, sesame, and coconut ground fine, loosened with water and turned sour with tamarind. All of that grinding happens at home, so camp is one pot and one boil.
The substitutions worth naming: browned onion paste becomes dried onion flakes, fresh ginger and garlic become powders, and the fresh green chillies become dried ones or a drained jar of rings. Deseed the dried chillies or the heat runs away from you. Do not skip the tempering step at the start — the mustard seeds and curry leaves in hot oil are most of what makes this taste like anything other than peanut butter soup.
Packing
Toast and grind the peanuts, sesame, coconut, and coriander at home and combine them with the ground spices and onion flakes in one bag. That bag is the whole gravy. Whole seeds and curry leaves go in a second small bag so they stay whole for the tempering. Oil and tamarind ride in separate leakproof bottles inside a ziplock.
Variations
- A foil packet of chicken or a handful of soy curls added at the simmer turns it into a heavier dinner.
- No rice? Serve it as a thick dip and scoop it with flatbread carried from town.
- Double the tamarind and thin it out for a sour soup on a cold night.
https://www.awesomecuisine.com/recipes/4494/hyderabadi-mirchi-ka-salan-hyderabad-green-chilli-curry