Homemade Zhoug: Yemeni Hot Sauce

Bowl of homemade green zhoug with wooden spoon on side.

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Homemade Zhoug: Yemeni Hot Sauce

Green sauces are found all around the world. Zhoug is one such. It's a hot, garlicky, Yemeni condiment which works both as a green paste and a green sauce. This homemade zhoug recipe contains coriander leaves (cilantro), garlic, cumin and green chillies and it packs a punch. Spread or drizzle it over everything.

Prep Time10

Cook Time0

Total Time10

Course: Dips, Spreads & Sauces

Cuisine: Middle Eastern, Yemeni

Keyword: chilli sauce, chillies, coriander leaves, green sauce

Servings: servings

Calories: 39kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Equipment

mini food processor (affiliate link)

Ingredients

1-3 green chillies fleshy and quite hot are best - seeds removed, if liked - roughly chopped
2 clove garlic peeled and roughly chopped
¼ tsp coarse sea salt
75 g coriander leaves (cilantro) washed, dried and roughly chopped
2-3 sprig fresh mint (optional) washed, dried and roughly chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds toasted and ground or use ¾ tsp ready ground cumin
½ lemon juiced
50 ml extra virgin olive oil 4 ½ tbsp

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Place the chillies, garlic and salt into a small food processor and whiz to chop.
1-3 green chillies, 2 clove garlic, ¼ tsp coarse sea salt
Add the coriander leaves and stems, mint, if using, cumin and lemon juice. Whiz until every thing is finely chopped.
75 g coriander leaves (cilantro), 2-3 sprig fresh mint, 1 tsp cumin seeds, ½ lemon
Add the olive oil and whiz again.
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
As usual with these types of sauces, taste test for flavour. Add more salt, lemon juice or oil as required.
Scrape into a sterilised jar and keep in the fridge, where it will last for a week or so. If you cap the sauce with olive oil, it will last even longer.

Notes

Makes around 150ml (⅔ cup). Serving sizes will vary depending on what you're using it for. I've gone for a generous tablespoon serving, but a teaspoonful will often do the trick.

Instead of a food processor, you can chop everything by hand. Use a sharp knife or mezzaluna and cut as finely as you can. Add the lemon juice and olive oil at the end and stir everything together.

Add more olive oil for a runnier sauce. Anything up to 75 ml for this quantity of greens. Or for a thicker paste, add a bit less.

You’ll find additional tips and info about this recipe in the main body of the post.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.

Nutrition