Habanero Chile Garlic Sauce Recipe

Everyone who likes spicy food and has tasted this sauce says it would sell very quickly. If you've followed our family's culinary adventures, you may know how much Daddy (my father-in-law) loves anything spicy. My husband Lulu planted Habanero chiles in planters last summer and Daddy made several jars so we could enjoy the chiles all the way through the winter. Daddy came up with a very easy but flavorful recipe for chile garlic sauce. Simply combine the same proportion of fresh garlic and Habanero chiles and complete with white vinegar, a touch of salt and sugar.

You can enjoy it as a condiment on the side like Daddy does, or I've also added half a teaspoon of the spicy mixture in sauces, dressings and marinades. It adds a pleasant, spicy zing to just about any dish.

How to Make Chile Oil

Last summer, I promised I was going to post all the recipes using the Habanero chiles that my husband Lulu harvested. I published the spicy butter recipe in the fall and now I'm going to share with you a simple chile-infused oil. The applications for the chile oil are varied; you can drizzle it over a pizza, flavor a sauce or vinaigrette or use it in marinades.

Like the chile butter I made earlier this year, this infused oil carries the essence of the Habanero peppers without as much of the heat. And the color is gorgeous!

Spicy Butter Recipe (with Habanero Chiles)

We picked the last Habanero peppers yesterday, officially marking the end of our vegetable season. I feel a little bad about that seeing as folks on the East Coast are already dealing with snow. Sorry! I think I've mentioned that due to a very frustrating gopher infestation, my husband Lulu planted mostly everything in planters this year. We had one planter full of Habanero chiles, which are famous for being the hottest peppers in the world. If you've never gotten a chance to experience Habanero peppers, they are extremely fragrant and fruity. The flavor is almost indescribable, as is the heat follows. Our plants were prolific; three habanero plants produced over 20 cups of peppers! Of course, having that many peppers forced us to get creative with how we used them, which was a lot of fun.

The first application we came up with was a flavored butter, which oddly wasn't all that spicy to my taste. I think the casein in the butter neutralizes a lot of the heat. Trust me, if I can enjoy it, you can too. I've been married for many years now, and before, I couldn't bare the spiciness of black pepper. I'm sure it helps marrying into an Indian family, but this Habanero chile butter captures that intoxicating fragrance without being overly spicy.

I pulsed red Habanero chiles with garlic into a purée and mixed them into soft butter. I measured 10 grams for a mild butter, 20 grams for medium and 40 grams for extra spicy. You could reduce the ratio, depending on how strong you want the heat. This butter is lovely as a spread for sandwiches, in pasta or as a garnish for a juicy steak. I especially like it on whole grain bagels.

I'll slowly post all the other ways we put these peppers to use. Try them if you dare!

Apricot Pepper Jelly Recipe

I've made several sweet and spicy preserves in the past and this is one of the many variations we made last summer. As I might have told you before, Lulu's favorite hobby after work is gardening. He takes such great pride harvesting the hottest chiles. He started them from seeds and grew them in those cool Jiffy greenhouses. We should be starting planting the seeds again in the following weeks.

Last August, we harvested jalapeño and Habanero chiles. I paired the spicy peppers with delicious apricot juice and made my own pepper jelly. The problem with canning and making so many experiments during the summer is that we have to store all the jars in the garage. The preserves taste much better if you let them sit for a few weeks so the flavors are at their fullest. By that time, we usually forget about them until we do a huge clean up! It just took us 6 months to find these 3 jars. I’m glad we did; this apricot pepper jelly tastes delicious!

Mirchi Ka Salan Recipe

I just learned how to make a variant of mirchi ka salan by Sheerin Auntie, who came to visit us during winter break week. This version is made with only white sesame seeds and originated from the region of Lucknow (Lakhnau) where Abbi, my husband Lulu's late grandfather was born. The previous version was taught by Baji (Lulu's late grandmother); they lived in Hyderabad where mirchi ka salan is made with peanut, fresh coconut and sesame.

The sesame seed variant is quite a bit milder. The sesame seeds are blended into a thick paste (tahini), then added to cumin-flavored oil (baghar). Whole chile peppers are cooked in the sesame mixture until softened. A drizzle of lemon juice finishes the dish. It's as simple as that. Prior to cooking the mirchi ("chiles" in Urdu), I had to be brave and estimate the level of spiciness of the peppers. If the heat is too fiery, you could cut a longitudinal slit and remove the seeds and more of the sesame sauce will enter in the cavity of the chiles for a milder taste.