Very Hot Sauce

Wed 27 Jul 2022 16:25:15 PDT

For lovers of very hot hot sauce, here's a recipe invented in, of all earthly places, southern Ohio while visiting relatives. Inspiration grew out of the pleadings of our 14 year old nephew to make something "monster hot". After much discussion about exactly how hot is "hot", what he really wanted was "mind blowing" hot. OK then, let's see what we could do, and this recipe is what happened.

Meeting the challenge was easier after finding a stash of beautiful red habenero chilis at a local grocery. What great fruity flavor they had, though not quite as hot as the usual yellow-orange versions. That's the reason for the wide range of number of chilis to invest in the dish. Naturally other types of chilis can be used—hotness can be adjusted to suit anyone's preferences.

BTW by sheer coincidence this hot sauce has more than passing resemblance to another recipe on this site: Zhug. You might want to check that one out too. It's good to have options!

Ingredients:

habenero, chopped 1-3 chiles
shallot, chopped fine 1/4 cup
garlic, finely chopped 1 tbsp
ginger, finely chopped 1½ tsp
turmeric, ground 2 tsp
mustard, finely ground 1/2 tsp
cumin, ground 2 tsp
coriander, ground 1 tbsp
nutmeg, ground 1½ tsp
cinnamon, ground 1/4 tsp
salt 1/4 tsp
neutral oil (avocado, etc.) 2-3 tbsp

Heat a saucepan or wok to medium-high temperature, add oil, saute shallot, garlic, ginger until slightly brown. Keep ingredients moving, don't let them burn.
Add chiles and after a minute or two, add mustard, turmeric, stir-fry briefly.
Then add coriander, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt to pan.
Lower heat to medium-low.

stock, vegetable/mushroom 1-2 tbsp
vinegar, rice wine/lemon juice 1-2 tsp

Optional:

fenugreek leaves 1/2-1 tsp
apple, chopped fine 2 tbsp

If using apple, add to sauce and simmer for several minutes until apple is very soft and blends in with the sauce.
Add vinegar to taste, then mix in stock a teaspoon at a time until sauce reaches a good consistency.
Sprinkle fenugreek leaves (if using) and simmer for about 2 minutes.
Let cool to room temperature. Adjust texture with stock and sauce is ready to serve.

If needed the sauce can be prepared in any reasonably large quantity. Keeps for several days in refrigerator, that is, if it's not all gone by then!

Categories: middle-east Indian seasonings

About Thinair Recipes

Recipes developed with low-sodium diets in mind—so easy to use!

Here's a quick guide:
Recipes have one or more “boxed” ingredient lists grouped with step-by-step instructions, for example:

garlic, chopped 3 cloves
chicken stock 2 cups
...other ingredients...

Saute garlic in oil until soft.
Add chicken stock to pan...
...next step...

Ingredient boxes show what you'll need for the numbered steps. Not too complicated!

BTW “salt” in our recipes refers to salt substitute, i.e., potassium chloride, KCl. (Since KCl may not be healthy for some people, ask your doctor if it's OK for you to use it.)

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