Red Chilli Garlic Paste

1. Wash and pat dry the chillies completely.
2. Cut out the stem from the top of the chillies and slit them through the middle.
3. Take a clean, sterilized glass jar (a large size) and add the chillies into it.
4. Now top it up with white vinegar, enough to cover the chillies.
5. Let the jar sit at room temperature for 3 days.
6. On the 4^th day, the chillies would have soaked in most of the vinegar and become real plump and fat.
7. Drain out the vinegar and separate the chillies from it.
8. Grind the garlic into a fine paste.
9. Now heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan.
10. Add the garlic paste and cook till slightly brown.
11. While the garlic is cooking, grind the chillies into a paste.
12. Now add the chilli paste into the cooked garlic and continue stirring and cooking for 10-15 minutes on medium flame.
13. Add salt halfway through the cook.
14. The idea is to cook it till oil separates.
15. If you choose to make a sweet version of it, you could add the sugar/ jaggery along with the salt and cook till oil separates.
16. Let the chilli paste cool completely and then transfer to a glass jar and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 year.

Never again do you have to worry about buying chilli paste from the market!

1. Marinades
2. Thai cooking
3. Asian cuisine
4. Pizza sauce
5. Pasta sauce
6. Salad dressings
7. Indian gravies
8. Dipping sauce with starters (recipe given below)
9. Beloved Midnight Maggi
10. And practically anything that requires chilli paste.

• Dipping Sauce Recipe: Mix equal quantities of the chilli paste and tomato ketchup. Add finely chopped coriander to it and few drops of lemon juice. A perfect spicy dipping sauce is ready for your starters!
• To make a Jain version of it, you can simply omit the garlic from the recipe and follow rest of the recipe as it is!
• Red chilli used are the fat red chillies we use to make stuffed pickles with.
• Do not try and reduce the quantity of oil used. It is required to cook the paste well and also to preserve it for long.
• Use enough vinegar to soak to chillies, it’s required to get soaked and plump up the chillies. Helps in preservation as well.
• No need to throw out the vinegar that you used to soak the chillies. Simply store it in a clean, sterilized glass jar and use it instead of plain vinegar in any recipes. Not in baking though and do remember it’ll be slightly spiced up! You’ve your own chilli vinegar to use.
• Sugar/ jaggery can be used to make a milder, slightly sweet version of it. Though I like to make it spicy, so I end up using very little and enjoy the flavor.
• Recipe can be doubled or tripled as per your requirement through the year! You wouldn’t want to keep repeating the process. Plus, not always are the red chillies available in the market, they are seasonal!
• This recipe can be used with fat green chillies as well. Works well with Indian recipes.
• Now just in case you decide to make this recipe and can’t find the fresh red chillies, you could follow the same process with dry red chillies as well. Just choose the ones which are spicy and not those that only impart colour.