Homemade Harissa
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:
- 1/4 cup dried red chile peppers
- 1/2 cup Chipotle (I used the canned ones)
- 3/4 cup chopped garlic
- 4 teaspoons caraway seed
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- Sea Salt to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh Mint Leaves
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Puree (Optional… to make it less spicy)
- 6 teaspoons Extra Virgin olive oil
Optional: Cinnamon, Rosemary, Fresh Coriander/Cilantro… These ingredients are added depending on the different regions.
Preparation:
Remove the stems from the chilli peppers. & soak in water for 15-20 minutes, then drain.
Place all the ingredients (From 1-9) & 3 tablespoons of oil, 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.
Place Harissa in a jar, and cover the top with the rest of the oil to maintain freshness. Store in the refrigerator.
Related Posts:
Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
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Details 
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
must be v tasty..lovely new recipe to me
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:04 pm
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.
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:20 pm
New to me..Yet sounds spicy n delicious.
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:56 pm
I just heard of this yesterday… someone had also posted a recipe for this… yours looks lovely as well.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:54 pm
This is so new to me. Got to try it
Thanks for the info and the recipe.
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
This is something so new!Gotta try … btw … what do we have it with?
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:18 am
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…
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:08 am
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.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:06 am
Harrissa looks spicy delicious,Soma
.I love hot harissa in salads and on grilled meat.
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:57 pm
That sounds tasty. I have been wanting to try exploring harisa more. What a rich colour of red.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
now this looks seriously good!
October 24th, 2008 at 2:26 am
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.
July 14th, 2009 at 7:53 am
I love this stuff! I love adding it to my pasta, especially with a meat sauce, for a spicy kick.
November 14th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
http://recipesa2z.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-09-24T22%3A07%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=15 pl. check ur picture is stolen