Moroccan Harissa Sauce

Moroccan Harissa Sauce is a spicy red hot sauce prepared from hot chilli peppers. To give an extra flavour, ingredients like lemon juice, coriander seed, cumin seed are added to this sauce. Here is how to make homemade Harissa Sauce at home.

I am huge fan of sauces and dips. At any day you arrive at my home, and you would always find jars of Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce, Marinara Sauce or Italian Tomato Pasta Sauce ready for making delicious dishes in minutes.

Recently, I also made Moroccan Harissa Sauce after a friend recommended it to me after listening about my love for sauces and dips.

What is Harissa Sauce?

Moroccan Harissa Sauce is a spicy and hot red pepper paste which is traditionally made in North African and Moroccan cuisine. It’s very easy to make and can be stored in refrigerator for almost a week.

Ingredients of Harissa Recipe

To make Moroccan Harissa, you will need red bell pepper and fresno chillies. If fresno chillies are not available, you can use any red chilli that is mildly hot. You will also need bird’s eye chillies which is a very hot variety of chillies.

Apart from these main ingredients, you will need coriander seeds, cumin seeds, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic.

How to make Harissa Sauce Recipe?

Traditionally, this paste is made in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. But, with all our busy schedules, I like making homemade Harissa quickly in a food processor.

And, similar to other great recipes of sauces, Harissa recipe requires you to roast the peppers. This process gives Harissa Recipe a strong flavour. The chillies are charred and only then they are used.

Talking about the process, I have used three kind of chillies to make this Harissa Paste. For instance, red bell peppers, fresno chillies, red bird eye’s chillies. 

Fresno Chillies look like Red Jalapenos. You may substitute with Red Serrano peppers as well or any mild red chilli for that matter.

How to use Harissa Paste?

This spicy, red, hot Moroccan sauce is very versatile and can be used as a spread on sandwiches, for marination and even as a topping on your pizzas.

I completely enjoy using it and eating it with different combinations. Chicken breasts or thighs marinated with Harissa Sauce and then grilled to perfection is one of my favourite ways to use this sauce.

Shrimps go quite well with the sauce too.

Here is the recipe for making this lip-smacking sauce at home! Do not miss it any chance as it would really perk up your meals, even snacks or any occasions for which you would serve it.

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How to make Harissa Step by Step

Dry roast coriander and cumin seeds until browned and fragrant and keep aside.

Roast the red peppers over direct flame until charred from all sides. Cool and remove the charred skin.

Discard the seeds and chop into small pieces.

Add all the ingredients in a blender.

Blend to make a smooth paste.