Sticky Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce
A glossy, sweet chilli dipping sauce with a warm cumin aroma and mild chilli heat, thickened by reducing a sugar syrup. It is quick to make and is used straight away.
Cumin seeds for the oil
1.1 gAdded to the hot oil at the start (step 1)Chilli powder for the pan
1.1 gStirred in after the cumin (step 2)Everything else
Method
- Warm 13.5 g vegetable oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the cumin seeds for the oil (1.1 g) and fry for a few seconds until fragrant.
- Stir in the chilli powder for the pan (1.1 g mild Kashmiri chilli powder or mild paprika) and cook for 5 seconds.
- Add 70 ml water, 120 g caster sugar and 0.3 g salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Simmer over low heat for 3–4 minutes, until slightly thickened. Cool briefly; the sauce thickens more as it cools. Use immediately.
Don't have something?
Peanut oilUse 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.
GheeUse 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.
Mustard oilUse 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.
Ground cuminUse 70% of the weight; add with ground spices or sauce bases rather than hot oil tempering, where it scorches quickly and turns bitter.
Black cumin seedsUse equal weight for oil tempering. Delivers an earthy profile with an additional musky, smoky, and slightly bitter edge.
Fennel seedUse 60% of the weight for tempering; offers comparable warm aroma, but leans sweet and liquorice-like rather than savoury and earthy.
Mild paprikaUse the same weight for colour with almost no heat; add a pinch of cayenne if heat is needed.
Kashmiri chilli powderUse the same weight; it gives a similar red colour with a little more warmth.
Mild chilli powderUse the same weight, but taste as it may be hotter; reduce by 20% if unsure.
Granulated sugarUse the same weight. It is slightly coarser, so stir a little longer to dissolve; in baking, grind briefly if a fine texture matters.
Demerara sugarUse the same weight, but dissolve it earlier as it is coarser. It adds a light caramel note and a little colour.
Ground jaggery or soft brown sugarUse the same weight; crush or grate jaggery first. It darkens the dish and adds molasses flavour, so reduce other liquid slightly.
Similar dishes
- Same: Sirkewalli Mirch shares caster sugar, salt and a mild chilli character with this dish, but it uses whole mixed chillies rather than chilli powder.
- Different: Sirkewalli Mirch is pickled in 507 g white wine vinegar with whole peppercorns, mustard seeds and bay, has only 4.2 g sugar and no oil, cumin or chilli powder, and is not thickened by reducing a sugar syrup.
- Same: Maharashtrian Thecha shares vegetable oil, cumin seed, chilli and salt with this dish.
- Different: Maharashtrian Thecha uses fresh green bird's-eye chilli, garlic, roasted peanuts and coriander leaf and is pounded into a coarse relish, while this dish has no garlic or peanuts and is a sugar syrup reduced into a glossy sauce.
- Same: Molagai and this dish both use chilli and vegetable oil.
- Different: Molagai is a gram-flour batter fried around whole green chillies with ajwain and amchoor, while this dish is a sugar syrup reduced with cumin and mild chilli powder and has no souring agent.
- Same: Chilli Garlic Chutney shares vegetable oil, Kashmiri chilli, sugar and salt with this dish.
- Different: Chilli Garlic Chutney uses dried Kashmiri chillies soaked in malt vinegar and blended with garlic, while this dish uses cumin seed and mild chilli powder in a sugar syrup reduced with oil.