This recipe was collected for me in Mombasa, Kenya by Richard Sterling, 
who wrote: “The barbecue master at the Big Bite Restaurant in Mombasa is 
Tsuma Nzole Kalu. He concocted this recipe for hot sauce and gave it its 
name. Serve it over grilled or barbecued meats and poultry.”

Ingredients

4 fresh pili pili chiles or red jalapeños, seeds and stems removed
1/4 teaspoon coriander seed
1/4 teaspoon cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Ukwaju Kenyan lemon or 1 lime, juiced
Water

Instructions

Combine the chiles, spices, and the salt in a mortar and pound to a 
thick paste. Transfer to a jar, add the lemon or lime juice and enough 
water to make the mixture easily pourable. Shake well and set aside for 
a few hours to let the flavors marry.

Variations on this hot sauce appear all over Africa, with the key 
ingredient being peanuts in any form. Here, peanut butter works 
well--and it's the cook's choice to use smooth or crunchy! Ladle it over 
fried chicken or fish.

Ingredients

1/2 pound dried fish, such as salt cod, coarsely chopped
4 1/2 cups water
2 onions, chopped
2 teaspoons peanut oil
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons cayenne powder
1 teaspoon curry powder (or to taste)
1 cup peanut butter
Salt to taste

Instructions

Soak the dried fish in 2 cups of water until it becomes soft. Drain and 
pat dry.
In a large skillet, fry the onions in the oil until brown, about five 
minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the 
fish, curry, cayenne, remaining water, peanut butter, and salt. Simmer, 
uncovered, for 45 minutes, or until the sauce thickens to the desired 
consistency.

From one of my far-flung writers, Linda Lynton, this recipe is a basic 
sauce from northern India and Nepal. She noted: “Although this specific 
recipe was given to me by a Patna housewife, some peasants originating 
from a remote Himalayan village in Central Nepal and housewives from an 
equally remote village in North Bihar gave us the same recipe.” Use it 
as a topping for chicken, fish, or vegetables.

Ingredients

1 pound fresh green chiles, such as serranos or jalapeños, seeds and 
stems removed,
4 small potatoes, peeled and boiled
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
Water as needed

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in batches in a blender and process to a fine 
puree, using water as needed to achieve the desired consistency.

A table condiment to similar in appearance to ketchup–but much more
pungent–sriracha sauce is named after a seaside town in Thailand.
Increasingly popular, this sauce is found on the tables of Thai and
Vietnamese restaurants all over North America. Fresh red chiles are the
key to the flavor of this recipe.

Ingredients

1 pound fresh red serrano, cayenne, Thai, or chile de arbol chiles,
stems removed
2 1/2 cups rice vinegar (substitute white distilled vinegar)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt

Instructions

Remove the stems from the chiles. Place the chiles and vinegar in a
saucepan and heat to boiling. Turn off the heat and add the sugar and
salt and stir until dissolved. Place the saucepan contents in a food
processor or blender and puree until a smooth thin-paste consistency.
Add additional rice vinegar if the mixture is too thick. Allow the
mixture to steep for several hours, place in glass containers, and
refrigerate. The consistency should be slightly thinner than ketchup.
Or, strain the sauce through sieve and discard the solids for a smooth,
seedless consistency.