Recipe: Cili Kisar/ Homemade Dried Chilli Paste

Cili Kisar (Cili Giling in the supermarkets), or Homemade Dried Chilli Paste is a staple in Malaysian recipes. This is the base for many sambal (Chilli) dishes in Malaysia. It's a relatively easy item to make, except for the fact that your hands will be "heaty" for a while, so you can't rub your eyes, touch your skin or take a shower for a good while. When I was younger, I hated making cili kisar because my mom would make me cut the chillies and I would sweat profusely and rub my eyes afterwards.

You can use it for rendang, masak hitam, sambal dishes and many other Malaysian dishes. It keeps in the fridge for one week and freezes well too (freeze in portions!). I always only make one portion because I dislike cutting so much of the chillies and deseeding them. Some people don't cut them, some people don't boil them (they just soak them in hot water) but I prefer cooking it to be safe and to reduce the spice level.

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Recipe: Cili Kisar/ Homemade Dried Chilli Paste

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 10 - 15 mins

*Makes about 1.5 - 2 cups  of paste

Ingredients

2 Handful (2.5 cups?) of Dried Chillies

Water

Cooking Methods

1. Cut the dried chillies in half, vertically. Remove the seeds.
2. To remove excess seeds, I also run the cut chillies through a salad strainer.
3. Leave to boil for at least 10 minutes over medium heat. Make sure there is enough water (as the chilli will soak up the water).
4. Strain and wait to cool.
5. Blender with a little water.
6. Cook immediately or keep in fridge (lasts for a week) or freeze in portion (lasts for three months).

Separating the dried chillies. My right container is where I chuck all the seeds.

How the deseeded chillies look like.

The deseeded chillies (spotted the stalk? Remove it!)

Leave to boil in the ugliest pan you never use haha. After the chilli softens, strain and leave to cool.

Add to blender and add some water to help your poor blender.

 Sorry I forgot to take a photo of the chilli in a container, as I poured it straight from the blender into the dish I was cooking later that day.