Mint-Cilantro-Chili Yogurt Sauce

So many kinds of chili peppers. What's a good way to try them out? This from Patricia Gadsby with the Falmouth Farmers' Market. It offers a way to explore the flavor and heat of chili peppers in measured amounts - a little or a lot - all in the same recipe.

This recipe is a minty-fresh, cooling yogurt-based sauce, kicked up with a little (or a lot of) chili. Experiment with different kinds of chili peppers to find one(s) that best suit your palate. You can serve with fish, grilled vegetables and meat, or mop it up with flat breads like pita and naan.

Mint-Cilantro-Chili Yogurt Sauce Ingredients:

• 1-2 green or yellow chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• ½ cup packed, chopped mint leaves
• ½ cup packed, chopped cilantro
• 1 large scallion or small spring onion, chopped squeeze of lime juice
• ¼ tsp. or so salt
• ½ tsp. sugar
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt

Procedure:

• Finely chop one of the chili peppers.
• Chop washed herbs and put herbs and chili into a blender or food-processor with everything but the yogurt.
• Pulse to blend to a fine green paste, scraping down, adding a spoonful of yogurt or splash of icy water if necessary to get things moving.
• Taste, and blend in more chopped chili, or add some chili seeds, if the paste doesn’t have sufficient kick.
• Scrape paste into a bowl and stir in yogurt. Slake with a little cold water if it’s too thick.
• Taste and adjust the balance of sweet-salty-spicy to your liking.

Note: This recipe is extremely flexible. If you want it hotter, add more chili peppers, chopping very fine. If you like it milder, stir in more yogurt.

Enough for 4-6.

Thanks, Patricia. Nice recipe.

Enjoy!

Cheers,
Rooster