Double Dish of Shatta Sauces
(click to enlarge)

Shatta


Egypt   -   Shatta
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2 cups
**
35 min
Yes		 This hot sauce is particularly popular in Egypt, where it has been much used for Koshari, the ubiquitous "comfort food" of that country. It should not be confused with Shata - Sudanese (one "T") popular in Sudan - it is very different.




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3
10
8
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2
2
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1
1
1
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1/2
2
6
1
---
oz

cl
---
T
T
---
t
t
t
---
T
T
oz
c
-- Vegetables
Chilis, fresh red (1)  
Thai Chili (2)
Garlic
-- Herbs
Cilantro (3)
Parsley, flat (3)
-- Spices
Cumin seed
Salt
Pepper
-- Wet Items
Wine Vinegar, white  
Olive Oil, ExtV
Tomato Paste
Water

The only difference between our Red and Green Shattas is that the Red has 2 T of each of the green herbs, while the Green has 1 whole cup each (see Comments).

Make   -   (35 min (Red)   |   1 hr (Green))
  1. Cap RED CHILIS and cut in half lengthwise. Core and seed them. Cap THAI CHILIS. Mix.
  2. Crush GARLIC, chop coarse. and add to Chilis.
  3. Remove CILANTRO and PARSLEY leaves from stems. Chop medium and measure lightly packed (2 T each for Red Shatta, 1 cup each for Green Shatta). Mix.
  4. Grind together all Spices items.
  5. Run Vegetable mix, Herb mix and Spices mix in a processor or blender until as smoothly puréed as you can get them (my mini-prep processor is just big enough to do this whole recipe at once). You will need to add most or all of the liquid items to aid processing.
  6. Mix in all remaining Wet items.
  7. Place in a saucepan and bring up to a full simmer over low flame, stirring often. Hold at simmer for about 1 minute.
  8. Store refrigerated in a sealed jar with enough olive oil poured over it to seal it from air. It should keep for at least a couple of weeks.
NOTES:

  1. Red Chilis:

      Whatever red chilis might be used in Egypt and Palestine are not likely to be found in North America. Around here we all use red ripe Fresno chilis, or red ripe jalapeños if available (Huy Fong Foods buys nearly all of those for their famous chili sauces). Holland Red or similar chilis would also work - or even Red Anaheims, since most of the heat comes from the Thai Chilis. In the Region there is a moderately hot chili named "Shatta", that may or may not be associated with this sauce, as "Shatta" is just a word for "Red" in Arabic. For details see our Chilis page.

  2. Thai Chilis:

      In North Africa, red Piri Piri chilis would be used, but those are not much available in North America. Much more available Thai Chilis (preferably red for the Red Shatta), are similarly hot. The amount given makes this sauce satisfyingly hot by Southern California standards - use your own best judgement as to how many. For details see our Thai Chilis page.

  3. Cilantro & Parsley:

      Measure is chopped medium and lightly packed. Always use Flat Leaf Parsley for cooking never curly leaf, which is more like plastic than like an herb. 2 T each for Red Shatta, 1 cup each for Green Shatta.

  4. Comments:

      I have seen a note or two that there are both red and green versions of Shatta. Strangely, there are many Shatta recipes on the Internet, and most that have photos show a red sauce - but many of those same recipes call for an amount of green herbs that can't possibly make a red sauce. I can only attribute this to indiscriminate copying of recipes and photos on the Internet, without actually testing the recipes. Commercial Red Shatta is less hot than home made, and usually includes tomatoes.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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