Chilli sauce

[Weka]

When I was in either Egypt or Dubai (or both) I became quite partial to their chilli sauce.

I dont suppose anyone would have a recipe? It's not sweet chilli sauce.

[Workingman]

Hi Weka,

I spent a few years in the ME but cannot remember a "named" hot sauce from the region. There were the usual hot sauce brands in supermarkets, but all the street vendors (I ate a lot of street food) had their own chilli hot-tomatoey-garlicy-peppery-herby versions.

You could try a taster for a few cents using the basics:
garlic
chillies
black pepper
tomato or tom purée
lemon juice
leaf herbs - parsley, coriander etc.
a dash of cumin or curry powder
olive oil
salt (to taste)
water

Blitz everything except the salt an water to a pulp. Heat the pulp gently to release the flavours - couple of minutes - then add the water and simmer for about five mins. Pass the pulp through a sieve into a bowl to get the sauce and add salt to taste.

The remaining pulp can be kept to use as a rub on chops, chicken or steak.

[Workingman]

Another sauce you might like to try is Sriracha

It is a part fermented sauce and only slightly sweet. I have a bottle of the Huy Fong brand but will try the recipe when it runs out. It can be used as a dip, a marinade rub or to add a kick to cooking sauces.

[Weka]

Thanks WM. Let me know how it tastes.
I will need to find some good chillis and have an experiment.

[Workingman]

Weka, local doner kebabs come with a hot sauce, if required. It makes a good base for other sauces with a bit of tweaking.

4 cloves of garlic
2 plump red chilli
2 ripe tomatoes
2 dsp tomato ketchup or passata
1 shallot
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
fresh basil or 1/2 tsp of dried
splash of white wine or cider vinegar or lemon juice
salt and pepper to season
water if required.

Chop the veg and add everything to a food processor and blitz to a paste using water to get a consistency you like. It can be used raw straight away or cooked down and strained as with other sauces.

A lot of these sauces are much of a muchness, but it is fun experimenting to get the right one just for you.

The sriracha is gorgeous, but expensive. I will try the posted recipe shortly and compare.