Harissa is a traditional side with Moroccan and North African food. It is a potently spicy sauce, with the main ingredient being a lot of Hot Peppers. I make this very often for quite a few reasons. It is very easy to make, & the Harissa added to about anything charges up the taste. Add it to rice, salads, dips, couscous or any other sauce or sides and you have a tongue tickling sensational taste.
I have used Hot peppers here, but if you do need to make it less spicy, substitute the amount of hot peppers with roasted, & peeled red bell peppers.
Ingredients: (makes about 3/4 cup)
- 3/4 cup dried red chile peppers
- 1/4 cup garlic, cloves
- 1 teaspoon caraway seed
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- sea salt or any coarse salt to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves ( or any other herb you want to use – optional)
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree (optional… to make it less spicy)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil + a tablespoon or however much needed to add a layer to the top to store it
Preparation:
Remove the stems from the chilli peppers if any and soak in water for 15-20 minutes, then drain. Reserve the water. (If you do not want the Harissa too spicy, you may remove the seeds of the chili peppers).
In a dry skillet lightly toast the cumin, caraway and the coriander seeds, only for a couple of minutes until just fragrant. Watch that they do not turn dark or burn. Cool the toasted seeds.
Place all the ingredient in a blender or food processor and process it until smooth but not absolutely pureed. OR place all ingredients in a mortar & pound with a pestle until smooth. If it feels too dry, add a few teaspoons of the pepper soaked water, a little at a time, only as much required to make a thick paste. (try not to use any water, as it stays longer in the refrigerator if no water in used)
Store in a clean dry container topped with the rest of the olive oil. Cover and refrigerate. Allow it to sit for a couple of days for the flavors to infuse and mature.
Will stay in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.
Related Posts:
Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Indian Spiced Pineapple Chutney
must be v tasty..lovely new recipe to me
Great ! looks real lollicking !! I am planning to prepare this , on coming weekend. Sure, it will go with ANY veg/non-veg Indian dish that I make at home.
New to me..Yet sounds spicy n delicious.
I just heard of this yesterday… someone had also posted a recipe for this… yours looks lovely as well.
This is so new to me. Got to try it 🙂 Thanks for the info and the recipe.
This is something so new!Gotta try … btw … what do we have it with? 🙂
Wow Soma…tempting harissa, they goes really prefect with Cous cous..love to have them with chicken sausage too..i love to prepare sandwiches with harissa..lovely click as usual…
Vanamala, Mohana, Divya V, DK, Priya: Thanx and yes it is very spicy, but I love it:-)
Anu Divya: I found & heard of this recently too .. in a cook book, and I had to try it out. Changed some proportions and added some stuff of my own.
Sharmila: I usually add it as a sauce (like any hot sauce) when I am cooking something spicy. Cooked pumpkin recently, will post it soon. u can have it as a dip or spread too, or use it as chutney.. it pretty much can be used anywhere.
Harrissa looks spicy delicious,Soma :).I love hot harissa in salads and on grilled meat.
That sounds tasty. I have been wanting to try exploring harisa more. What a rich colour of red.
now this looks seriously good!
i have heard abt it so much but never ventured into making it home. i am bookmarking this recipe and will give it a shot pretty soon.
I love this stuff! I love adding it to my pasta, especially with a meat sauce, for a spicy kick.
http://recipesa2z.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-09-24T22%3A07%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=15 pl. check ur picture is stolen
I love your blog – I could spend all day – relishing your wonderful recipes.
good recipe!I’ll try to make Harisa
It says to place all ingredients in blender, then later says to store topped with “rest” of olive oil… what is the division of oil? How much goes in the puree and how much is used to top/store?
Thanks!
I have edited the recipe. Thanks much for pointing that out!