Salsa macha is a traditional Mexican condiment made with dried chiles, nuts and seeds, and plenty of oil. It's spicy, smoky, and nutty, making it the perfect addition to tacos, eggs, or any dish that needs an extra kick.
Yield2 cups
Servings32 tablespoons
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 large ancho chiles *
- 5 large cascabel chiles *
- 2 chile de árbol (optional) , or more for spicy salsa macha
- 1½ cup vegetable oil
- 5 large garlic cloves , peeled
- ¾ cup raw cashews , or raw peanuts or raw almonds
- 2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt , more to taste
Instructions
- Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles and roughly chop them into smaller pieces.
- Add the oil, whole garlic cloves and raw cashews to a saucepan. Place on medium heat and cook until the cashews and garlic are golden brown – about 6 to 8 minutes. Turn the heat down if they are browning too quickly, and give the pan a swirl every now and then. It will sizzle and start to smell amazing.
- Add the chiles to the pan with the cashews, garlic and oil. Continue to cook until the oil is reddish – about 30 seconds – and remove the saucepan from the heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chile and cashew mixture to a heat-proof bowl.
- Add the sesame seeds to the hot oil and set aside. They will toast as they sit.
- Allow the fried chilli, garlic and cashew mixture to cool for about 5 minutes. Then, add it to a food processor with the dried oregano and salt. Blitz until coarsely ground. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the sesame seeds and oil mixture. Keep blitzing until the chiles are ground to your liking – I like mine a chunky, crunchy mix but you can keep going until you have a paste.
- Taste, and add another ½ teaspoon if it needs it.
- Transfer to an airtight container and leave it in the coldest part of your kitchen to cool down for an hour. Then refrigerate for up to 7 days. The flavour will keep improving!
Notes
- Chiles: You can use any combination of dried chiles, but I like to stick to a base of flavorful mild or medium-hot chiles like chiles cascabel, chipotle, guajillo chiles, and ancho chiles. Then I boost the heat with spicy chile de arbol to taste. There is no right or wrong here, just different types of delicious!
- Storage: The salsa macha is ready to use immediately, but allowing the chilli oil to rest for an hour will give it a serious flavour boost. But, don't leave it at room temperature for more than an hour. For longer storage, refrigerate it. You can also freeze it into ice cubes (though this will affect the texture and flavour).