Madagascar Sauce Dynamite

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This typical sauce spices up most of Madagascar’s dishes.

Ingredients

  • 12 bird peppers (chiltepins or piquins), crushed
  • 3 tablespoons freshly ground ginger
  • 3 tablespoons freshly ground garlic
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1 cup vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together in a pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat, cool, puree in a blender, and place ithe sauce in a small jar.  It keeps for up to a year in the refrigerator.

Cape Malay Sambal

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

Many South African recipes are spiced up by sambals such as these that the Malayan immigrants brought to the country.  Add it to grilled meats, soups and stews, seafood dishes and even over rice.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups vegtable oil
  • 4 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 6 tablespoons finely grated root ginger
  • 1 cup tomato paste
  • 2 chicken stock cubes
  • 6 ounces peeled dried prawns (or shrimp)
  • 3 ounces tiny dried prawns (or shrimp), ground to a powder
  • 1 tablespoon hot red chile

Instructions

Heat the oil in a sauce pan and fry the onions and ginger for 10 to 15 minutes until the onions are goldern.  Stir in the tomato paste and mix throughly.  Crush the chicken stock cubes and add them to the pan, without water.  Stir to mix.  Simmer, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes.  Add both lots of prawns (shrimp) and stir for 1 minute.  Add the chile powder and throughly blend in.  Cook for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly.  Take care not to burn the mixture at this stage.  Remove from the heat and let stand for about 1 hour or until the sambal has cooled down.  Transfer to a storage jar and keep in a cool place until required.

Very Hot Ethiopian Spices (Mit mit a)

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

Mit mit a, an Ethiopian spice mixture, is used to spice up and flavor stews, or w’ets.  It is made from the small and hot African chiles that we know as piquins and is sprinkled over raw meat (kitfo), especially lamb.

Ingredients

  • 10 dried piquin chiles, seeds and stems removed
  • 5 dried red New Mexican chiles, seeds and stems removed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamon
  • 1 tablespoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Toast the chiles in a dry skillet, taking care not to burn them.  Transfer to a spice mill and grind them to a powder.  In a bowl, combine the dry chiles with the cardamom, cloves, and salt and mix well.

We’t Spices

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

A we’t or wa’t is a traditional Ethiopian stew, spiced either with Berbere or this simpler blend of spices.  This spice mixture is usually added near the end of cooking a stew.

Ingredients

  • 6 dried red New Mexican chiles, seeds and stems removed
  • 3 tablespoons black peppercorns
  • 3 tablespoons whole cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmic

Instructions

In a dry skillet, toast the chiles, peppercorns, and cloves until they are aromatic, taking care not to burn them.  Transfer to a spice mill and grind to a fine powder.  Transfer to a bowl, add the nutmeg and turmeric, and mix well.

Tabil

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

This spice mixture is from Tunisia, where it is used to spice up stews and is sprinkled over grilled meats.  The word tabil means coriander, but generally refers to this blend of ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dreid crushed chile, such as piquin

Instructions

In a mortar, combine all ingredients and pound into a paste.  Dry the paste on a plate in a 200 degree (fahrenheit) oven for about 1/2 hour.  In a spice mill, grind the dried paste to a fine powder.