All purpose chilly garlic paste

I chose this recipe as my first post because I love it so much and because once you have this simple recipe, there are so many variations you can try. It deserves to be called 'all purpose' because it can be used for cooking, as a  marinade and as a dip too. Store it in a clean jar in your refrigerator for up to 3 weeks !!!!

basic ingredients:

• 2 large tomatoes
• 6-8 cloves of garlic
• 6-8 green chilly pepper
• 4-6 dried  kashmiri pepper

In a small saucepan, throw in the tomatoes, green chilly peppers and dry kashmiri peppers and add one cup of water. Bring it to a boil on a medium heat for about 10 minutes allowing the fruits to cook and soften.Turn off the heat, strain and them keep aside while you peel the garlic cloves.

Next, add the garlic to your saucepan and sprinkle in some salt to your taste.

Blend all the ingredients together using a hand blender till you get a smooth paste. Be careful not to hurt yourself or dirty your kitchen :)

•  the process of blending may be done using a mortar and pestle which will give u a more chunky textured  paste perfect for diping some chip into! Make sure to add your favourite fresh herbs if you want to use it as a dip. I prefer coriander leaves or chinese cilantro in my dip.
• using a blender gives you a smooth paste ideal as sauce for dimsums/dumplings/momos/spring rolls.
• adding some fresh paneer/cottage cheese/ greek yogurt/roasted peanuts or roasted sesame seeds to the paste  and blending further will give you a pink coloured sauce. This is perfect to drizzle on your  parantha/taco/pita bread along with other stuffing!
• it can be used in cooking and marinating meats and vegetables as well (watch out for the recipes)

This recipe is water based unlike most oriental chilly pastes which use oil as a base for more taste and added shelf life, making this sauce a guilt free option.

 I hope my recipes act as a framework to inspire you to create your own according to your own taste.
Remember to cook from your heart!!