SWEET CHILI SAUCE

My cliques were astonished the very first time I served this at one of our get together. However, including or placing this on the menu wasn't intentional it was a recipe I was trying for the first time.
Even though, stew is a regular thing in every African or let me say Nigerian home. The regular ratio for stew is tomato, bell peppers(tatashe), scotch bonnet (Rodo), etc. In this case, none of that will be used, only chili peppers.

Also note, that chili peppers are extremely, pungent and spicy where does the sweetness now come from? It comes from natural honey. I thought why can't I add some sweetness to enhance the taste then honey was introduced to add some element of sweetness. You require something sweet to tone down the pungency hmmmm some chemistry experiment right there 😂

Funny enough, it was my curiosity and the strong will to take risk that led to the birth of this recipe. Cooking for me is passion and all about exploring. Retrying this recipe every other time, I always introduce something new and was astonished to the length anyone can go in creating or recreating recipes. One other ingredient I added was the grains of Selim pods this infused nicely into the sauce giving it some aromatic fragrance while, the bay leaf gave it some herbal feel. It's a mixture of texture, flavour and taste as the case may be.

You are probably reading this and wondering if you can add sugar instead of honey? Well, you can, only that I focus more on natural ingredients when making my meals. However, Jaggery is also a very good alternative the traditional unrefined sugar used throughout South and South-East Asia can be bought in any Asian and African grocery stores.

Now, let's cook!

INGREDIENTS: (2-3 servings) 

5-6 Fresh Chili (Shombo) pepper blend
I medium diced Onion & garlic
1-2 Bay leaf
45ml or 3TBSP Vegetable / Olive oil
1tsp Chili flakes (optional)
1/2TBSP Honey
2 pods Grains of Selim
1/3tsp Curry
1/4tsp Salt
Water

STEPS / PROCEDURES:

Step 1: Clean and blend peppers.

Step 2: In a pan, add oil, grains of Selim, onions and garlic let it sautée.

TD's Tip: Adding the grains of Selim at this time is equally important it enable the grains of Selim add its natural flavour and fragrance to the oil.

Step 3: Add pepper blend, bay leaf, curry, salt, water. Stir and bring to a slow boil.

Step 4: Add some chili flakes, and honey. Then stir till its well combined.

TD's Tip: The chili flakes are totally optional this is to intensify the spiciness of the fresh pepper. If you can't handle the hotness, do away with it.
You can add more honey if you taste and it requires the need for more. But note, it just doesn't have to be too much.

Step 5: Serve with grilled fish, chicken wings, fried yam or potato etc.

Bon appetite!