Jennifer Brennan

Essence of chilli peppers

Preparation info
  • Yield:

    a bottle

    of chilli essence
    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in
Curries & Bugles: A Memoir and Cookbook of the British Raj
Curries & Bugles

By Jennifer Brennan

Published 1990

  • About

In a sense, this is a cousin to Tabasco, or any of the other hot pepper sauces.

Ingredients

  • 2 oz the reddest dried chillies you can find
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • white vinegar

Method

  1. Place the chillies in the sun for 1 hour (a very low oven for 15-30 minutes will possibly do). Then place them in a spice grinder in batches and grind them to a powder.
  2. Using a funnel and extreme care, place the powder in a bottle and add the salt. Pour in only as much vinegar as will make a slightly runny paste. Cork or cap the bottle and place it in the sun o