Homemade Harissa Paste

Making your own pastes and sauces at home is real blessing. Fresh is always best. But sometimes we can't source all the ingredients we need. Or sometimes the original products may not be available in the stores. So we are forced to make substitutions. I would prefer not to make these substitutions. It turns our favourite foods from 'yum!' to just 'blah'. Would you want to eat blah? No right? So let's make our own sauces.

Having lived in the Middle East for a few years, I have come to the realisation that I prefer their robust flavours, compared to the Pakistani flavours I was bought up with. One thing I couldn't find during the quarantine was Harissa Paste. And after looking for quite a while, I decided to make my own. And I have to say, I don't think I will ever go back to using Harissa Paste from a jar. When I can make it so much better myself.

Preparation Time 20 minutes

STEP- BY- STEP PICTURES

Remove the seeds from the chillies.

Add the chillies to a bowl of boiled water. Soak the chillies for 20 minutes to rehydrate. Set the bowl aside.

Toast the cumin seeds and coriander seeds for a couple minutes until fragrant.

Grind down the seeds until they resemble a fine powder.

Add the garlic, paprika and salt to the seed mixture.

Add the lemon juice and vinegar. Grind it into a paste.

Transfer to a larger food processor and add the tomato paste.

At this point, we will add the rehydrated chillies to the processor and blend for 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup olive oil in a slow stream and process until well combined and a homogenous mixture.

Store in the fridge for 4 weeks.

Ingredients

7 Large dried New Mexico Chillies

1 Tablespoon cumin seeds

2 teaspoon coriander seeds

4 cloves garlic- minced

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Remove the seeds from the chillies.

2. Add the chillies to a bowl of boiled water. Soak the chillies for 20 minutes to rehydrate. Set the bowl aside.

3. Toast the cumin seeds and coriander seeds for a couple minutes until fragrant.

4. Grind down the seeds until they resemble a fine powder.

5. Add the garlic, paprika and salt to the seed mixture.

6. Add the lemon juice and vinegar. Grind it into a paste.

7. Transfer to a larger food processor and add the tomato paste.

8. At this point, we will add the rehydrated chillies to the processor and blend for 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup olive oil in a slow stream and process until well combined and a homogenous mixture.

9. Store in the fridge for 4 weeks.

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