Courtesy of our friend, V S and Dakshin, Vegetarian Cuisine from South India
Ingredients:
- About 500 gms or 1 lb fresh green, orange and red chilies (use a thin long spicy and fragrant variety like Thai, Indian or Cayenne)
- 2 Tbsp pure organic sesame oil
- 4 Tbsp rapadura sugar or powdered jaggery (available in ethnic Indian grocery stores)
- 4 Tbsp tamarind extract (Use 2 Tbsp mixed with warm water if using a concentrate – again available in ethnic Indian grocery stores)
- Kosher salt to taste
Method:
- To prepare the tamarind extract from fresh tamarind, take a ping pong ball sized amount and soak it in warm-hot water for 10 minutes. Use fingers to extract pulp and discard the skin and fibers.
- Destem and wash the chilies and dry them. Slit them lengthwise without splitting them apart and set aside
- Heat the sesame oil in a wide saute pan
- Add the chilies and cook on medium heat while turning them occasionally until they blister well on all sides (about 15-20 mins)
- Add the salt, tamarind extract and jaggery / rapadura sugar and cook on low heat until the tamarind cooks down (about 20 mins). Stir occasionally to make sure the bottom does not burn
- Switch off, bottle and store in refrigerator
Notes: Based on the spiciness of your chili peppers, you may need to adjust the amount of tamarind and jaggery up or down.