This spicy curry sauce recipe is made with fiery Scotch bonnet peppers, lemongrass, garlic and curry powder. Use it as a quick curry sauce or a finishing hot sauce. Nice and spicy!
It's hot sauce making time in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen today, my friends! I have hot sauce galore in my house, but that doesn't mean we can't use a bit more, right?
Hey, there is never enough hot sauce!
My garden is EXPLODING with all sorts of peppers this year, but one of my most prolific plants is my Scotch Bonnet plant. Talk about production! I've received many pounds of Scotch Bonnet peppers this year and I'm hugely thankful for them. Scotch Bonnets are great peppers and they offer up a nice level of heat.
About Scotch Bonnet Peppers
The Scotch Bonnet pepper is a cultivar of the habanero pepper and has a similar heat and flavor. If you enjoy habaneros, you'll love these peppers. The Scotch Bonnet is just as hot as a habanero, measuring in at 100,000-350,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU) on the Scoville Scale. The hottest Scotch Bonnet is about 70 times hotter than an average jalapeno pepper, to give you an idea. Nice heat!
Scotch Bonnets are very often used in Caribbean cooking, where they originated and are widely grown. Dishes like jerk chicken or Jamaican Hot Pepper Sauce require the flavor and heat of the Scotch Bonnet.
Learn more about Scotch Bonnet peppers here.
I've been preserving these peppers like crazy already this year, but one of my favorite ways to use them is to make hot sauce. You already know I'm a hot sauce fanatic. I make all types of them, from fermented to non-fermented to extra crazy hot to sweet and mild, all depending on what I'm in the mood for.
Today I'm going to make a quick and easy Scotch Bonnet hot sauce that is infused with curry powder, garlic and lemongrass. The flavor is very much like a spicy curry sauce. You can easily make a big batch of this recipe and use it as a curry sauce for chicken, beef, pork or seafood, or use it as a nice finishing hot sauce for your curries or other dishes.
The heat level is quite hot, so if you're plan is to use it as a curry sauce, you may want to cut it with other ingredients or milder peppers.
Let's talk about how we make the hot sauce, shall we?
Ingredients Needed
- 8 ounces Scotch bonnet peppers, chopped
- 8 ounces mixed sweet peppers, chopped (or use all Scotch bonnet peppers for a truly hot & spicy version)
- 1 ounce lemongrass paste
- 6 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup water, or more as needed to thin the sauce
How to Make Scotch Bonnet Curry Hot Sauce - the Recipe Method
- First, add all of the ingredients to a medium sized pot. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until everything softens up.
- Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. If you’d like a thinner curry sauce, add water a couple tablespoons at a time and process to thin it out.
- Strain the curry sauce if desired.
BOOM! All set! Easy enough, right? Use it up as a curry sauce or as a hot sauce you can drizzle over all of your favorite foods. Give your meals a little fiery zing! Curry style!
This recipe makes 10 ounces curry sauce, strained. Enough to fill 2 5-ounce woozy bottles.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Cooking Method. I did a quick boil of the ingredients here to cook them through, then processed them to make the hot sauce. Alternative methods include chopping them and cooking them in a pan, roasting them or processing them raw with other ingredients then cooking the resulting puree. You can also ferment the peppers to make hot sauce.
- Other Ingredients. Consider this a basic starter sauce. Feel free to incorporate other ingredients to your preference that you feel will compliment the flavors. Some ideas include fresh or dried herbs, ginger, green onion, turmeric, chili powders, fruit like mango or habanero, or perhaps a citrus like lime juice or lemon juice.
- pH. The pH is 3.7 for this hot sauce. If you'd like to lower the pH, add more vinegar or citrus.
Safety Tips for Working with Hot Chili Peppers
- Avoid the Fumes. Hot chili peppers like Scotch Bonnets give off fumes when you cook them that can make it difficult to breath, a bit like pepper spray wafting into the air. Open up as many windows as you can when cooking indoors, and use a fan to combat the fumes.
- Wear Gloves. Hot peppers contain oils that can cause burning sensations on your skin if you touch them directly, particularly when you chop them or cut them open. It is best to wear gloves when working with them. Try not to touch other parts of your skin, like your face or anywhere sensitive. If you do, see my page on How to Stop the Chili Pepper Burn.
Frequently Asked Hot Sauce Questions
Here are answers to some of the most common questions I get about other hot sauces:
How long will this Hot sauce keep?
This hot sauce should keep a few months easily in the fridge, or even longer. It's all about the acidity. To be technical, target level pH for shelf stable foods is below 4.6 pH, but should probably be lower for home cooks, around 3.5 or so, to account for errors. This particular sauce measured 3.7 pH for me, so if you'd like it to last even longer, add more vinegar or a citrus (such as lemon juice or lime juice) to lower the pH. Sauces made with fermented chili peppers will last even longer.
The best ph meters that I recommend are from Thermoworks. Get yourself a ph meter from Thermoworks today. I am a happy affiliate.
Where'd You Get those Hot Sauce Bottles?
I find them locally sometimes, but I also order through Amazon. Here is a link to some bottles I like (affiliate link, my friends!): Swing Top Glass Bottles, 8.5 Ounce - Set of 4
. If you like the smaller bottles (woozy bottles) that most hot sauce makers use, here's another link: Hot Sauce Bottles (Woozy Bottles), 5 Oz - 24 Pack
.
Can I process this hot sauce for longer storage?
Absolutely. Just be sure to use proper canning/jarring safety procedures. Also, I would lower the pH to 3.5 if you're running them through a water bath.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation provides home canning instructions and many recipes that have been tested for food safety. NCHFP.uga.edu.
Try Some of My Other Popular Scotch Bonnet Recipes
- Peach-Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce
- Jamaican Hot Pepper Sauce
- Scotch Bonnet-Peach Pepper Jam
- Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Try Some of My Other Popular Hot Sauce Recipes
- Homemade Sriracha (both fermented and non-fermented varieties)
- Cayenne Pepper Sauce
- Ti-Malice – Hatian Creole Hot Sauce
- Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
- Datil Pepper Sauce
- Devil's Tongue Hot Sauce
- More Hot Sauce Recipes
Also see my page - How to Make Hot Sauce: The Ultimate Guide.
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Scotch Bonnet Curry Hot Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Scotch bonnet peppers chopped
- 8 ounces mixed sweet peppers chopped (or use all Scotch bonnet peppers for a truly hot & spicy version)
- 1 ounce lemongrass paste
- 6 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup water or more as needed to thin the sauce
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a medium sized pot. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until everything softens up.
- Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. If you’d like a thinner curry sauce, add water a couple tablespoons at a time and process to thin it out.
- Strain the curry sauce if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 4/15/20 to include new information. It was originally published on 10/7/19.
Joan says
Can I add apricots? I bought a Curried Apricot Hot Sauce from a market and loved it? If so, do I use dried apricots or fresh? And how much? Thank you!
Mike Hultquist says
Joan, absolutely. I would replace 2-3 ounces of the peppers with fresh apricot, see how that goes. If using dried apricots, rehydrate them first. Then you can taste and adjust for more or less next time. Enjoy!
Zinat Bhanji says
How much water should you put to the first boi of the bonnet peppers? Thanks
Mike H. says
It depends on the stage, Zinat. But if you refer to when you want to make the sauce thinner, then go with adding a couple tablespoons at a time and processing. Enjoy!
Dan says
This stuff is fantastic! I had a similar sauce in Jamaica a few years ago and I can’t find it anywhere. This could be a ringer.
Thank you for the recipe!
Mike Hultquist says
Enjoy! I hope you love it! Happy to help you adjust.
Josh says
Hey Michael
Could I substitute fresh Scotch Bonnets with Scotch Bonnet powder? and if so do you know roughly how much I would need to use?
Thank you in advance.
Mike Hultquist says
Josh, yes, you can make hot sauce from dried pods and powders. I have a post on Making Hot Sauce from Chili Powders you can review here: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/how-to-make-hot-sauce-from-chili-powders/. Figure 3 tablespoons of powder = 4 ounces fresh pods.
Brianna says
I was unable to find lemon grass paste, but I did get my hands on some fresh lemon grass.. how many should I use to replace what’s called for in the recipe?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Brianna, I would use 3-4 stalks of lemongrass, ground into a paste, as it has a stronger flavor. You can include more if you'd like, but you can also add in 1 tablespoon to start (1 stalk lemongrass), then taste and adjust after that. Let me know how it goes for you.
Todd L Wiley says
Mike,
I made this sauce and it turned out amazing! It was only missing some salt. What would be a good ratio of salt for this batch?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Todd, the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon salt, but you can definitely add more. I usually tell people either "salt to taste" or "taste and adjust for salt" at the end of the recipe. You might try 2 teaspoons, or more to your liking. Thanks!
Robert Scotland says
My first Hot Sauce, so I tried this one using all Scotch Bonnets. I have a very productive bush in the garden so this seemed an ideal way to use them. Simple recipe to follow and do and it was exciting to get such a lovely tasting Hot Sauce with a curry zing and a nice peppery kick. Real pleased with this and thank you for leading me down this path to using my peppers to make hot sauces. I am looking forward to experimenting now with my Thai Hot Peppers, my Jalapenos, and then my Jamaican Scorpions. Fun times ahead. Robert.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great to hear, Robert! Welcome to the crazy but awesome hot sauce world! Enjoy! Glad to be helpful.
Ranger Rick says
My second batch using your recipes! I used 6 oz. Sugar Rush and 2 oz. yellow Naga Brain chiles, and doubled the water and vinegar. I also added a tsp. of tumeric for falvor and color. Simmered until really soft, stick blended. Bottled. Beautiful heat, perfectly balanced with a medium yellow curry blend. I'm going to make more, and maybe use a tablespoon of fresh ginger during the cook, and lime or curry leaves. Thanks for doing all the heavy lifting!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks! Glad to be helpful!
Karen says
Excited to give this recipe a try, but I prefer Thai curry to Indian. I can replace the curry powder with curry paste to obtain the Thai flavor profile? Thank you.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
You surely can, Karen. It's very easy to adjust and swap/replace the ingredients. Enjoy!!
GJ says
Hi.
Can this recipe be used for a ferment in a 2/3% brine or mash and just add the vinegar when blending the ingredients post ferment? Plan is to add everything except the vinegar for fermentation then post fermentation strain brine, add vinegar to ingredients, blend and add brine as necessary. Or should curry powder be excluded from the ferment as well?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
GJ, yes, you should be able to do this and just blend in the vinegar at the end. I don't see any issue. You can include the curry powder with the ferment, if desired, or add at the end. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Joseph says
CAN YOU USE HABANERO PEPPERS RATHER THAN BONNET. BONNET IS HARD TO FIND HERE IN FORT LAUDERDALE . THANK YOU
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Joseph, you most certainly can. Enjoy!
Joseph Hernandez says
IF I DO NOT HAVE LEMONGRASS WHAT ELSE CAN I USE
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Joseph, use lemon zest for a similar flavor, not too much.
Ash says
As I have found with all the recipes I have tried so far from this website, this sauce is completely gorgeous!!! I have also made a second batch, where I almost doubled the scotch bonnet count, and used jalapenos (I'd run out of sweet peppers, courtesy of the awesome Louisiana hot sauce recipe) as a substitute, also adding pineapple and honey into the mix, which also turned out very nicely. I have yet to try a sauce recipe from here that hasn't been tremendous in every way. Thanks again Mike. 🙂
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Ash! Glad to be helpful. Enjoy the sauce making!
Shirley says
How do you fix the water separation when refrigerated?!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Shirley, just give it a good shake. Most hot sauces will separate. Commercial sauces use ingredients like xantham gum to keep them from separating. Something you can look into for the future. Best!
Tori says
Hi I love this recipe! I was wondering since I don't have lemongrass, what would make a good a substitute?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Tori. You can use some lemon zest with extra herbs. I hope this helps!
Nick says
Do you de-seed the peppers or include them in your recipe?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nick, I normally include them, but you can core the peppers if you'd like.
ze says
Hello
the lemongrass needs to be paste??? i have lemongrass can i use it?
thanks
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Ze, you can use lemongrass instead of the paste. No problem.
Claire says
I made this sauce but substituted a mix of collies for the peppers as someone who was going to eat it is allergic to bell peppers. Gave a jar to friends and within half an hour the jar was empty as they had used it as a dip for crisps. That to me means it is a success and tasty recipe
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That's great, Claire! Super happy it was enjoyed.
Kevin says
This is the first sauce I made from this website. This sauce is amazing! I used more Habaneros and less of the green pepper to get more heat. Love it!
I'm using the baked wing recipe tonight to load this sauce on!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Kevin! I love it!
Dave Kirk says
Great recipe. Grew my own scotch bonnets and fermented them for preservation. The combination of curry with Scotch Bonnets and sweet peppers is fabulous. The heat comes on late - like 30 seconds later - and keeps getting hot.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Dave! Glad you enjoyed it! Definitely got some heat with this one.
Daniel says
In this recipe, did you mean 8 scotch bonnets peppers or did you mean 8 oz of scotch bonnet?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
8 ounces, Daniel. This recipe calls for 1 pound of peppers total. It's a lot of peppers, but they really break down. You can adjust to your preference.
Peter van Leijen says
I really like this one. How long can you keep this?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Peter. I discuss this under the FAQ section on the page, but here is the answer:
This hot sauce should keep a few months easily in the fridge, or even longer. It’s all about the acidity. To be technical, target level pH for shelf stable foods is below 4.6 pH, but should probably be lower for home cooks, around 3.5 or so, to account for errors. This particular sauce measured 3.7 pH for me, so if you’d like it to last even longer, add more vinegar or a citrus (such as lemon juice or lime juice) to lower the pH. Sauces made with fermented chili peppers will last even longer.
chris says
Great recipe. I added about 100g of mango
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! I love the addition of mango. Perfect.