Green And Red Masala
My Guji roots don’t allow me to function properly without green and red masala in my fridge.
I am very sentimental person and when my childhood home was sold, I insisted on taking the containers that my mum used to store her masala. I still have them and it’s where I store my homemade hot stash.
My mother only ever used wet masala when she cooked. And I can’t even remember if she owned chillie powder, but knowing her, she probably did.
This recipe is an adaption from my Foi (father’s sister). When I moved to Joburg in 2015 I ran out of masala and wanted to learn how to make my own. I spread it in sandwiches as well and make spicy French toast with it as well.
Ingredients
1 kg green chillies
1 kg red chillies
1/2 kg garlic
1/2 kg ginger
2 tbsp salt
1/4 cup of oil divided into two
Top tip: Use surgical gloves to make this masala.
Method
Peel ginger and garlic and divide it into two portions each.
In a big blender/mincer grind green chillies and red chillies. Put them into two separate bowls.
Add 1/8 of a cup of oil into each bowl.
Add 1 tbsp of salt in each dish
Blend/mince garlic and ginger really, really fine.
Add equal weight of ginger and garlic to the bowls of green and red chillies.
Mix each bowl really well.
Store in a container and add 1 tsp of oil to the top of the masala. (The mixture freezes really well)