Testing, Testing, One, Two....Phew!

Before Phil unleashed his culinary skills on the special chillies that our friend Dominic had kindly given us, he wanted to experiment with the plant of non-specified chillies we had bought from a supermarket weeks ago (see photo and if anyone can help us with identification please let us know).  If all else failed, at least none of the premium home grown ones would be wasted.

 

This was to be the first of many chilli sauce making experiments.  After searching the net for some good recipes he quickly got bored and decided to make one up from ingredients we had in the store cupboard.  Phil was on his own when it came to this series of experiments, particularly so as he had requested I get him a couple of pairs of protective gloves from work to help him 'handle the chillies'.  He drew the line at eye protection on this occasion, but didn't rule it out for further experiments with some of the hotter varieties in the future!  As far as I was concerned, this was starting to sound hazardous. 

 

My part in all of this would be to provide the photograph of the end result; the safer end of the deal in my opinion.  I might consider trying the resulting sauce  but only after careful inspection of Phil's face, followed by a thorough inspection of his forehead to see how much sweat was breaking out.

 

In this particular case, the experiment was a success, resulting in one bottle of smoky sweet sauce with overtones of barbecue.  The heat builds, taps you on the shoulder before giving you a slight but passionate slap round the face.  We enjoyed it trickled over tortilla chips.  I chose the tortillas with the merest smattering on them, just to be sure, and watched as a very slight moistness formed on Phil's forehead.

 

Phil felt ready now to play with the big boys.

 

Chilli Sauce Test Run

1 tsp oil (rapeseed)
8 hot red chillies (seeds and pith removed)
1/2 tsp medium madras curry powder
200ml passata
100ml coconut vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp shoyu soya sauce


1.  Chop the chillies finely.
2.  Heat the oil in a pan and then fry the chillies gently for 2 minutes.
3.  Add the curry powder and fry for a further minute.
4.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for five minutes.
5.  Allow to cool and then blend to a smooth sauce like consistency.
6.  Decant into a clean sauce bottle.

Enjoy.......carefully!