Schezwan Sauce

               Today I am back to blogging after a really long time and posting a really simple, but a versatile sauce recipe. Schezwan Sauce is widely used in Indo-Chinese cuisine, it has a very unique flavor and can enhance any dish. It is a blend of  mainly red chilies, garlic and ginger. It is a simple sauce with minimal ingredients and very easy to make.
             
               There are a variety of red chilies available in the market, you can choose to use any of them depending on your preference, and how spicy you want it to be. My personal preference is a combination of some fresh peppers and some dried chilies. This sauce can be used for making noodles, manchurian, fried rice or as a simple stir fry sauce too for Asian dishes.

Here is my version for this simple, yet delicious Schezwan sauce recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red chili paste
• 12-15 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Onions
• 2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
• 2 tsp white Vinegar 
• 1 tsp Soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp Oil

Instructions:

•  For the red Chili paste, I used a combination of fresh red jalapenos, dry red Kashmiri chilies, and dry Thai chilies.
• Soak the chilies in hot water for 30 minutes. Then drain the chilies, de-seed them and grind them to a smooth paste. Add little water, if needed, while grinding. Keep the paste aside.

• Heat the oil in the pan.
• Add the garlic and ginger. Saute them until the raw smell of the garlic goes away. 

• Make sure the garlic is not brown.

• Now add the onions. Saute the onions until they are translucent.

• Then add the chili paste. Saute the paste for 3-4 minutes or until the oil separates from the side.

• Now add the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, black pepper, sugar and 1/2 cup water and mix it well.

• Let it cook for another 5-6 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

• Once it is cooled, store it an air-tight container. The sauce will stay good for about 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

• If you want to store it for a longer time, you can also freeze the sauce
• I generally keep a small container in refrigerator for daily use and freeze the rest 

Tomato Pepper Sauce

               My husband is a big fan of spicy food. Be it entrees, snacks or sauces, he prefers them to be really spicy. But at the same time, he doesn't like the one available in the stores as they are either too tangy for his taste or just the heat without any flavor. I ended up with more than 5 varieties of hot sauces in my refrigerator as he keeps buying different ones to find the right sauce for him.
                His passion for hot sauces motivated me to prepare it at home with the flavor, spiciness and the consistency that he likes. Here is my attempt at making the hot sauce:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chopped Tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped Onions
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 4 Jalapenos peppers
• 2-3 Serrano peppers
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp distilled White Vinegar
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

• Chop the peppers. The seeds are the spiciest so you can either remove all the seeds or use according to the heat desired
• Heat the Olive oil in a pan over medium heat
• Add chopped garlic and saute it for a minute, then add the onions and the peppers
• Saute it till the onions are soft and translucent 
• Now add the tomatoes, vinegar, lemon juice and salt 
• Cook until the tomatoes begin to soften 
• Then, transfer the mixture to a blender and puree it until smooth. Be very careful while pouring the hot mixture into the blender
• Now, sieve the puree using a fine sieve and extract out all the liquid. Use a wooden spoon to push away the solids
• Let the sauce cool to the room temperatures for about 1.5 – 2 hours before serving 
• You may freeze the sauce for a couple of months and use as needed. 
• I generally have a small container in refrigerator for daily use and freeze the rest so that it lasts longer 

Tomato Based Pasta Sauce

              There are a number ways to make sauces for pasta. Today, I will give you a tomato based pasta sauce that can go with majority types of pastas like Penne, Fusilli, Bow Tie, Macaroni etc. It is also a healthier alternative with all the fresh ingredients

Ingredients:

• 5-6 diced Tomatoes
• 1 cup diced Onions
• 1 cup diced Green Peppers
• 2-3 cloves crushed Garlic
• 2 tbsp crushed Red Pepper
• 1 tbsp Oregano
• 2 tsp dried Basil leaves
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

• Heat some Olive oil in the pan
• Add garlic and onions and saute them till the onions turn translucent
• Now add the diced green peppers and tomatoes and mix it well
• Add salt, cover and cook till the tomatoes are mushy.
• Then add the dried spices like red pepper, oregano, basil leaves, black pepper and simmer it for 7-10 mins

• Serve it hot with pasta of your choice. I love with multi-color bow tie pasta.

If you like the recipe, please leave a comment/feedback below.