Chamoy

The dried fruit simmered in its own soaking water until it falls apart, so nothing is thrown away and nothing needs thickening.

Vegan.

Ingredients

150 g dried apricots
100 g dried prunes, stoned
20 g dried hibiscus flowers
600 ml water
3 tablespoons ground chile piquin
juice of 4 limes
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Method

THE DRIED FRUIT IS SIMMERED IN ITS OWN SOAKING WATER UNTIL IT FALLS APART, so nothing is thrown away and nothing needs thickening. Dried apricots and prunes are soaked in six hundred millilitres of water, and then the whole lot -- fruit and water together -- goes on the heat and simmers until the pieces collapse. That water has taken up most of the fruit's sugar and colour, and it is also the only liquid in the sauce; blended back in with the softened fruit it gives a sauce that is thick because of what is in it rather than because of any starch or gum. Drained and the water discarded, as is usual with soaked dried things on this site, the sauce comes out pale, thin and needing something added to hold it together.
THE HIBISCUS IS WHAT MAKES IT RED AND SOUR, AND IT GOES IN WITH THE FRUIT. Twenty grams of dried flowers. They are intensely tart and stain everything a deep crimson-purple, which is where the colour comes from -- not from the chilli. Without them the sauce is brown and tastes only of stewed fruit.
IT IS BLENDED AND THEN PASSED THROUGH A SIEVE. Hibiscus flowers never fully break down and leave fibrous threads, and apricot skins leave flecks. One pass with a ladle, and what comes out pours smoothly -- which matters for something that gets drizzled.
THE CHILLI, LIME AND SALT GO IN AFTER THE COOKING AND ARE TASTED COLD. All three are volatile or shift as the sauce cools: simmered in, the chilli goes dull and the lime loses its edge. Stirred in off the heat and then tasted once cold, which is when it will actually be eaten.
IT IS MEANT TO BE SWEET, SOUR, SALTY AND HOT ALL AT ONCE, and the balance is checked deliberately rather than measured. Taste it and ask which of the four is missing; it is almost always salt. Three tablespoons of chilli to four limes and three of sugar is a starting point, not an answer.
The apricots and prunes put in a pan with the hibiscus and the 600 ml of water. Left to SOAK 1 HOUR.
The whole lot -- FRUIT AND ITS WATER TOGETHER -- brought to a simmer. Nothing drained.
Simmered 25 MINUTES, until the fruit has completely collapsed and the liquid is deep red.
Taken off the heat and cooled 15 minutes.
Blended, with all the liquid, until smooth.
PASSED THROUGH A SIEVE, pressed with a ladle, and the hibiscus threads and skins discarded.
The ground chilli, lime juice, sugar, salt and vinegar stirred in OFF the heat.
Cooled COMPLETELY, then TASTED -- it must read sweet, sour, salty and hot at once.
Corrected: if it is flat it needs salt; if it is cloying it needs lime.
Into a jar. It keeps 3 weeks in the fridge and goes over fruit, chips, rims of glasses and ice lollies.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Mexico · All recipes