Middle Eastern Hot Sauce?

[SkysMama]

Hi!
I'm attempting to recreate a Chicken Shawarma similar to the one at Truly Mediterranean in San Francisco. The only thing I'm missing is what type of hot sauce they use. It's dark red and has the consistency of tomato paste. It's got a nice kick to it, but isn't too spicy. Does anyone know what type of hot sauce/condiment is typically used in Middle Eastern dishes? Thanks!

[Fairy Nuff]

Hi there

I'm not sure whether you are asking for a sauce to serve over the chicken or a marinade.....

anyway I found this recipe.....no tomatoes in the sauce but the chili and sumac would definitely give it a reddish colour.

Chicken Shawarma - Arabian chicken sandwich

Ingredients

- fresh pita bread
- Whole dill pickle (cut lengthwise into 4 pieces
- French fries
- garlic spread (follow recipe)
Marinade for chicken
- 2 lb. boneless chicken with (cut into pieces)
- 1\2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. ground green cardamoms
- 3/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 t. ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp. crushed red chili
- 1 1\2 tsp. salt
- 4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1tsp. sumac, optional
Ingredients for garlic sauce:
- 2 whole garlic bulbs
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup corn oil
- 3 tbsp. lemon juice

1. Wash the chicken pieces pat dry. Place the chicken pieces in a bowl. Mix
all the spices with lemon juice to make thick paste. Rub the paste over the
chicken pieces thoroughly. Marinate it for 5-6 hours at room temperature
over night in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease a baking dish with oil, put
chicken pieces in skin side down, and bake it for about 20 minutes. Take it
out, turn them over and bake for 10-15 more minutes or until the chicken is
tender.
3. Remove the skin and shred the chicken with a sharp knife. Put the
shredded chicken back in the baking dish. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sumac and
mix well.
Garlic Spread:
Put the garlic and salt in a food processor or chopper and process to a
smooth paste. Add oil in a thin stream and process until oil and garlic form
a uniform mixture. add lemon juice and process once.
ASSEMBLY:
Take one pita bread, put a thin layer of
garlic spread. Put 4 tablespoons of shredded chicken, a
few slices of pickle and French fries. Roll
it, wrap in paper napkin.

[SkysMama]

Sorry about that. Let me clarify - it's a condiment. Sort of like hot sauce. I've only had it in the Chicken Shawarma & Falafel, which from this restaraunt, are served inside a kind of wrap. They just call it hot sauce and ask if you want it inside the shawarma.

[Fairy Nuff]

No worries

I'm still looking, so far I've found this one....for a thicker sauce just keep simmering until it's at the consistency you want (sounds yummy)


About 2 cups canned tomatoes
Juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic, put through a garlic press
1 Tbs. finely chopped parsley
1 tsp. brown sugar
Chili sauce to taste (1/2 tsp. makes a mild sauce; 1 tsp., a hot one)
Salt to taste
Put all the ingredients into a small, heavy pan, bring to the boil, and simmer uncovered until the tomatoes break up (about 30 minutes). Adjust the seasoning and allow to cool. Makes 2 cups.

[Fairy Nuff]

This one sounds promising!!


Dakkous Al-Tamat (Middle Eastern Tomato Sauce)
Hot Tomato Sauce

1 Tbls. Oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed with a
pinch of salt
250 g ripe tomatoes, peeled and
chopped
1/4 tsp. Cumin seeds, toasted
and crushed
salt
2 tsp. Tomato paste
1 chili pepper (optional)
Juice of a lemon



Heat oil in pan and add crushed garlic, cook only for a few seconds. Add tomatoes and salt to taste. Cover and leave to simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, cook with lid off for 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat. Serve with rice or as specified. Sauce may be stored in a sealed jar in the refrigerator and heated as required.

[chef FIFI]

It could be Harissa(aka sha'ta), here are some recipes.
http://www.recipezaar.com/r/q=harissa

[Zurie]

Chef Fifi, we're a bit shorthanded on this forum at the moment. The expert on such sauces is our Hajar, who does not have ready access to a computer and she is also having medical treatment.

You might be talking abour Harissa -- a thick, hot condiment rather than a sauce.

I am in South Africa and really not an expert on North African foods. Open the search engine Google (just put www.google.com) into the address line of your home page -- your "window" to the Internet.

Into Google's search line type "Harissa" and click on Search. A lot of documents will show up and you'll need time to go through them all.

If it's not Harissa you want, type in something like "North African + sauce + hot". You're bound to find something.

I do apologise if I explain as if you don't know the Internet. But I'm having a few connection problems here and cannot right now do the search for you.

Let us know if you find the right sauce -- Fairy Nuff and I are also learning along the way!

[Chef #208121]

The page is about the travels and a hunt for a hot sauce.

http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/jordan.asp
Shatah (Jordanian Harissa Sauce)

This sauce is thought to be of Tunisian origin, but is found throughout all of North Africa and the Middle East under various names and spellings. It is used to flavor couscous and grilled dishes such as brochettes, and also as a relish with salads. Cover this sauce with a thin film of olive oil and it will keep up to a couple of months in the refrigerator.

* 10 dried whole red New Mexican chiles, stems and seeds removed
* Water
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 5 cloves garlic
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds

Cover the chiles with hot water and let them sit for 15 minutes until they soften.

Place the chiles and remaining ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth using the chile water to thin it. The sauce should have the consistency of a thick paste.

Yield: 1 ½ cups

Heat Scale: Hot



It could be kicked up with a selection of a hotter red pepper. You could also jiggle the amounts of spices for a less spice taste.

[SkysMama]

Wow! Thanks for all the help everyone! After reading through the recipes, I think it's Harissa. I don't remember there being any tomatoes in it. It tasted more like chiles. I'm planning on making it on Friday so I'll let you all know how it goes. Thanks again for the help!
BTW - Do you think they sell a bottled harissa?

Fairy Nuff wrote:

About 2 cups canned tomatoes
Juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic, put through a garlic press
1 Tbs. finely chopped parsley
1 tsp. brown sugar
Chili sauce to taste (1/2 tsp. makes a mild sauce; 1 tsp., a hot one)
Salt to taste
Put all the ingredients into a small, heavy pan, bring to the boil, and simmer uncovered until the tomatoes break up (about 30 minutes). Adjust the seasoning and allow to cool. Makes 2 cups.

This sounds really good! I think I may have to try this one too!

[Chef #208121]

psst go to google click Froogle then type in Harissa and search. LOTS of products including Harissa in a tube

[SkysMama]

philocrates wrote:
psst go to google click Froogle then type in Harissa and search. LOTS of products including Harissa in a tube

Thanks

[chef FIFI]

One more thing to add, their sauce might be a "secret sauce", meaning it may be their very own concoction derived from a little bit of this a little bit of that. Good luck!

[Hajar Elizabeth]

Removed

[Zurie]

SkysMama wrote:
Hi!
I'm attempting to recreate a Chicken Shawarma similar to the one at Truly Mediterranean in San Francisco. The only thing I'm missing is what type of hot sauce they use. It's dark red and has the consistency of tomato paste. It's got a nice kick to it, but isn't too spicy. Does anyone know what type of hot sauce/condiment is typically used in Middle Eastern dishes? Thanks!

Check out Hajar's Sticky post in the forum for more information on Moroccan spices. If you scroll down a few pages there are several posts by Hajar on types of food and also soups, etc.

[SkysMama]

Thanks again for all the advice I made the Chicken Shawerma and it turned out pretty close to what I was trying for! But, after all of this, I forgot to make the hot sauce! I used sambal instead and it still turned out pretty good, but I think it would have been just right with the right sauce. Next time, I'll remember to make the sauce first!