Homemade Chili Garlic Paste

Chilli garlic paste is a versatile condiment to have, to pack a punch or raise the spiciness of any dish,. You can get a variety of bottled chilli garlic sauces or pastes at your supermarket, but nothing like homemade!! You know exactly what has gone into it and the best part is you can adjust the amount of chilies or garlic you add to it!

Around 40 to 50 dry red chilies

10 to 12 large cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

1 teaspoon vinegar

½ teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon oil

Salt to taste

Remove the stems, chop off the ends and deseed all the chilies.

All you have to do is once you cut the ends, just use a pair of scissors to make a long cut vertically and then shake the open end on a plate on bowl to remove all the seeds! Use a spoon if needed to gently dislodge the seeds.

Soak in enough hot water for about half an hour.

Peel the garlic cloves.

After half an hour of soaking, drain the red chilies.

In a blender or mixer, add the soaked chilies, chopped garlic, vinegar, sugar and salt.

Blend to a fine paste.

Remove from the blender into a bowl. Add the oil and mix it in.

Adjust the amount of vinegar, salt and sugar to suit your personal taste.

Stir well and use as needed.

Store in an airtight container (preferably glass) in the refrigerator.

Use as needed in a variety of dishes like sandwiches, Chinese, pulaos, biryanis, Thai dishes etc.

It can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of months at least.

I deseed the chilies as sometimes the seeds do not get blended fine and we do not relish these seeds popping in our mouth.

Use as much as needed in various dishes and the spiciness of the paste depends upon the type of chilies used. Some are much more hotter than the others, so use accordingly.

Amount of garlic can be adjusted to your palate.

Make sure to either use gloves while deseeding the chillies or wash your hands well with soap and water after handing them!