HOMEMADE HOT CHILLI SAUCE

Freshly picked chillies from our garden

Recently, we have made our first homemade hot chilli sauce and it has been a real success. Here is our recipe for you:

Ingredients: 

Hot chillies (Preferably homegrown)(about 15 of them but it depends on the size of your chillies and the heat level that you are after)
Red capsicum (2 large capsicums)
Vinegar (1/2 cup)
Oil (we've used olive oil)
Salt
Garlic (optional) (add to taste)

Roast the capsicum in the oven. If your chillies are large, then roast them too. If the chillies aren't very large, then you don't necessarily need to roast them. This gives it sweeter taste. Then, peel the skin of them as much as you can once they are cool enough for you to touch them. Remove the seeds and/or the white membrane that holds the seeds if you prefer it to be mild. However, if you want it to be hot, then leave them all in. After this stage, put all the roasted or raw chillies, the capsicum and the garlic into a blender and blend them all. Put some oil and finely crushed garlic into a saucepan and pour the chilli mixture on top of it as well as your vinegar and salt. Bring it to boil, then simmer it until it forms a desired sauce texture.

Our homemade chilli sauce

Tips: Once your sauce is cold enough, store it in a glass jar in your refrigerator. Also, sterilize your glass bowl by boiling it approximately 5 minutes before use. As the jar is still hot, pour in your homemade chilli sauce, a thick layer of olive oil over it and then close the lid. (Be generous with your oil since it also serves as a preservative for this sauce.) Allow some time for it to cool down and then store in your refrigerator when ready. Last but not least, use of some gloves is highly recommended if your chilli is very hot.