Soon afire
Friday, September 17, 2010 at 8:21AM 
What's in that jar right there is what's going to make you famous - garlicky, kicky, chili hot sauce. And it's killer. It's as hot as blazes but with a punchy brightness, deeply flavoured without the mask of vinegar burn.
I'll get to it, I promise. I might wander on the way however, as I have been thinking.
I've been thinking it has been a long time since I've been to India. Long enough that it deserves to be written in italics, and far longer than I would like it to have been.
I have been thinking about the visits from my younger years, to the homes of family that still live in the country where my parents were born. In the height of our July I thought of the heat of Delhi in the heart of summer, a heat that feels a presence in the room, unseen though felt. It collects itself around your shoulders like a cat might curl around your feet, holding you still and motionless. In that heat, you gulp the air in breathless mouthfuls.
The smell of mosquito coils slowly burning on our back deck takes me to a veranda in Chennai. It's a scent I grew up with, that scent that twists its way through the night upon serpentine trails of smoke.
And as much as I am there in those memories, the reality is that I am not surrounded by bougainvillea and jasmine blossoms but instead trees whose green leaves are beginning to smolder at their tips, surely soon afire. The forest will glow yellow and orange and burn red in echoes of summer's departed sun.
The heat I'm remembering has moved from outdoors to in. To firesides, stoves, and in this case, glass jars shining crimson-bright and beckoning.
See? I told you I'd get back to the chili sauce. Never fear, dear friend. There's method to my meanderings.
The Garlicky Red Chili Hot Sauce is from Melissa Clark via the New York Times. You might want to get out your best stationery and start writing her a thank you card right now. Full of body, with heat and dimensions of character - sweet, fresh, acidic and twangy. It's all there. There's show and then there's a payoff. It's not just flash, zing, wallop you with ash and cinders.
All you do, all it takes, is hot red chilies, sweet peppers, garlic, vinegar and salt. All into one pot, simmered gently for a few minutes, then whirled into a purée in a blender. The precious stuff, which I recommend treating with the care one might use in handling molten lava at this volatile point, is decanted into jars and left alone for three days. That's the hard part. The waiting. In that time the vinegar softens, rounding out, and the flavour of the peppers comes forward. Sweet meets heat in a way that quickens the blood and warms you right through.
One scant drop on a spoon, and it's suddenly the hottest day of summer. Wherever you may be.
Garlicky Red Chili Hot Sauce
From Melissa Clark and The New York Times.
Reader Comments (36)
I could some homemade hot sauce right about now... It would take the edge off this chilly morning!
I could meander with you all day long. Beautiful, as always.
The perfect description of Indian summer heat... "Felt even when not seen"! Feels like you are submerged in waves of heat and all you can do is to keep gasping to stay alive and hope you'll win! Gawd! I go back, rather often and it's still the same.. LOL
Oh how I love the way you write! We just spent 2 weeks in India and you describe the heat beautifully. I don't do well in the heat but I could do with a few more days of summer now that our mornings are nippy. Can't wait to make this sauce....pretty pics!
I love your words here, Tara, and your photos are out of control today! (They warrant italics, too.) Tell me, what do you eat it with? I'm thinking eggs. (Then again, I'm pretty much always thinking eggs.) What else?
you are magic coming here heals spirits instantly. Ho i wish i could go to india one day i hope. I am so excited baout this recipe, since a young age i was able to smell and taste food items i read- yup some wierd sense not always good special when someone mention cigarettes or beer!( the sixth i guess) so the whole time i was readind your post my tongue has a littl curl to it from the chili!
sorry about the typos- too many to count!
I love that a condiment so far afield from India and your memories of it could plant you back in the past. It's a small world, I suppose.
great depiction, as usual. Not that I've been to India, but I can see it so clearly when you describe it :).
This chile pepper concoction is other-worldly. I am going to HAVE to make it.
Beautiful writing, as always. Your posts - heck, your stories, cause that's what they are - have that power to calm me down and make me mind-travel at the same time.
And in that case, crave for that "Garlicky Red Chili Hot Sauce"! Thank you Melissa Clark, and thank you Tara :)
Hot sauce! Yum! I wish I had this yesterday, it would have been wonderful with my soup!
Your pictures and writing is gorgeous. Thank you.
-Amalia
http://buttersweetmelody.wordpress.com/
Your writing is so beautiful. You have a gift with words. The imagery is brilliant in the mind's eye as I read your posts. Never stop posting. Please.
This hot sauce looks like the perfect thing to take the autumn chill off--and if it give me a little taste of India, all the better.
Am I ever excited for this!!!
Me encantan tus post : )
i could wander with you... beautiful words, i am going to wander a bit longer over your lovely blog.
Interesting that so many of your commenters expressed a feeling of calm when they read your words. It is a remarkable gift that you have. I always go all dreamy when I read your posts. The fact that you always are making something that I want to eat, even if I didn't know it, is a huge bonus.
gorgeous pictures, as always! what camera did you use to take these lovely shots?
I think I just fell in love. This is hilariously good, T.
Well worth a try Tara. I can fault my weakness for all things garlic & chilli. And yes I remember the smells of those mosquito coils too;)
I just found your beautiful blog and I'm sad to have missed it all this time! lovely! Look forward to further thoughts and recipes.
Alison
Hmmmm that would make a great christmas gift.
Ah, Tara, the journey's such a joy, as always.
Hello!
Thanks all for the kindness on the hot sauce. I should clarify though, the recipe isn't Indian in origin. I was just waxing nostalgic about those trips, and while spice of course is associated with India, this recipe has no specific roots there. Sorry for any confusion!
Jess, hi friend! You'd asked about what I'm planning to eat this with - short answer, every darn thing. I've put it on my pizza, it's been drizzled on noodles and stir-fries, and yes, eggs.
Love your blog. Your writing is so descriptive. I need to make this chili sauce soon!