When I saw this recipe on the website of Thai table, I immediately wanted to make it and bookmarked the recipe. This has been sitting in my folder for almost 8 months and now when I finally made it, I was so glad that I did. This is going to be one condiment, which I will be using in almost all the dishes. The distinctive spicy flavor that we get in Thai dishes and Chinese dishes, when we order the food hot (spicy) is from this chili paste. This is a very versatile hot sauce that can be added to any Thai dish or Mexican dish. The balance of heat and sour along with the mild sweetness works great.

The other day, I used this as a side for the idli and all I can say is, it was simply WOW! It reminded me of the Poondu milagai podi and I kept going back to it again and again. Also it tasted great with Kichdi and Dosa. I am yet to try with Parathas. My older son who loves garlic, had it with his thachi Mammam (Curd rice) and he was all praise for it. The aroma of the shallots and garlic still linger in my kitchen and if you are a spice and garlic lover, this recipe is for you.

This recipe goes for the alphabet N under the category International.

A-Z Marathon – Alphabet N
Category – International

Preparation time – 10 mins
Cooking time – 40 mins
Difficulty level – easy

Ingredients – (makes 1 pint size jar)

• Dry red Chili – 1 cup
• Shallot – ½ cup (whole)
• Garlic – ½ cup
• Salt – 1tsp
• Sugar – 2 tbsp
• Tamarind paste – ½ tbsp
• Cooking oil – 1 cup

• Peel shallots and garlic. The uncut shallot and garlic should roughly measure about ½ cup (little more or less is fine). For the ease of making, I bought peeled garlic pods instead of the whole ones.
• In a food processor or the blender, mince the shallot and garlic separately. We will fry them both separately since they both have different cooking time.
• Add ¼ cup of oil in a pan and heat it. Add the dried red chili and fry, stirring constantly. Take care not to burn the peppers. Keep stirring them constantly and fry over low flame, until the red chilies are dark. Transfer the chilies to a large bowl.

• In the same pan, add ¼ cup oil and fry the minced shallots. Fry the shallots until they turn light brown in color. This should take about 10 mins. Pour the fried shallots out in the same bowl as the red chilies.

• In the same pan, add ¼ cup of oil and fry the minced garlic. Fry them until golden brown and then drain it in the same bowl along with the others. Garlic should fry faster than the shallots.

• Now add all the fried ingredients in a blender jar or food processor jar and add the salt, sugar and tamarind paste. Pulse until the chilies are ground and well mixed.

• Transfer the ground mixture back to the same pan that we used for frying and add the remaining oil. Fry the chili paste over low heat for about 15 mins. At this stage you could also just heat it through for 5 mins, but the longer they fry the better shelf life they have. Taste the chili paste and adjust the sweetness or the sourness based on your liking.

• The amounts mentioned above are based on how much I used to make. If you like them spicier, go ahead and add more chili, or reduce the chili if you like.
• If preferred you could use up to ½ cup more oil.

Logo courtesy : Preeti

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