Net wt: 75g (in a pouch)
Ingredients: Medium-spicy Chilies, yogurt, spices, salt
CHECK OUT our CURD CHILI 101 page to learn all about Curd Chillies.
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flavor profile: cheesy, tangy, mildly yogurty with a hint of ajwain/carom seeds and cumin
Also called:
majjiga mirapakaya (Telugu) | mor miligai (Tamil) | mosaru meṇasinakāyi (Kannada) | thairu mulaku (Malayalam)
This is a deeply loved pantry item! Sourced from our hometown of Hyderabad in South India! 🤎
Curd chillies don't refer to any specific chilly, but rather a preservation process. We've used a mildly spicy chili, de-seeded it and soaked it in buttermilk, with some spices, and then sun dried over a span of 10 days. Soak, dry, soak, dry - this process is repeated until the chilies absorb as much buttermilk cure as possible and then the chilies are dried to a crisp by the sun.
During this process, the chilies develop a tangy, yogurty, ever so slightly cheesy flavor. Most commonly they are used to top mild dishes like dal rice or curd rice, as a salty, spicy garnish.
Besides being incomparably fresher, these CURD CHILLIES are way less spicy and way less salty than their Indian grocery store counterparts.
To use the chilies, fry them only for 15-20 secs, so they can retain their unique flavor (instructional video above!)
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Serious Eats recommends:
- Beyond traditional uses, curd chiles make killer beer snacks, and they're way better than wasabi peas.
- Sneak some in with your bowl of salted nuts, both to keep your guests drink-happy and to moderate thoughtless munching.
- Or add them to your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe (which is, more or less, the American analogue of curd rice).
- Minced fine, they can garnish spicy salad greens like arugula or cress, or give piquancy to mild, creamy cheese spreads.
- You can also just use them in place of the generic dried red chile called for in countless Indian recipes. Prolonged cooking weakens the chiles' unique character though, so they're best added at the end of cooking. as a garnish!
Read more about them in this well-written article
