Salsa macha is a unique and delicious Mexican salsa. It has an addictive smoky flavor and it goes great with many of your favorite foods. This salsa is easy to make and lasts a long time in the fridge.
Salsa macha has become my favorite salsa during the winter months. Since tomatoes are not in season I can’t make the usual fresh salsas. So this is my go to. But salsa macha is amazing anytime of the year.
This salsa is originally from Veracruz which is also where my husband is from. We are both obsessed with this salsa. We enjoy it almost daily!
Salsa macha is amazing on a lot of things. I like it as a snack on arepas, toasted corn tortillas, eggs, vegetables, rice and beans. But my husband is something else…. he put this on his stuffing during Christmas dinner. I wanted to gag.
I love stuffing and I love salsa macha but I do not think they belong together. He actually does this with a lot of food and I just try to resist the urge to tell him to stop. After all it’s his food he can eat how he likes. Right?
I do however enjoy adding a bit of this salsa to my soups when serving. It’s really good in some caldo de pollo or chicken tortilla soup. It adds a wonderful smoky spicy flavor that I can’t get enough of.
I make this salsa with mostly morita chilies and a few arbol chilies. The morita chilies have a smoky and slightly sweet taste to them and the arbol chilies add extra heat.
You can completely omit the arbol chilies if you like. The morita chilies will still provide plenty of heat.
This is salsa is very easy to make. However it is very important that you don’t burn the chilies. If you do the salsa will end up with a bitter taste.
You can use the flavored oil as a dip for crusty bread. I prefer to eat the bits at the bottom. Whichever way you choose to eat it, it is amazing!
Salsa Macha
I hope you will be brave enough to try this spicy salsa. You won’t regret it! If you make it please come back and tell me what you thought. If you liked this recipe please give it a rating below thanks!
Salsa Macha
This unique spicy salsa goes great with all of your favorite Mexican dishes! A little will go a long way!
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp of sesame seeds
- 1 1/3 cup of olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves
- 15 morita chilies seeds removed
- 5 arbol chilies seeds removed
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- salt to taste
Instructions
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Heat a pot over medium heat and toast the sesame seeds.
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Transfer the seeds to a blender.
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Add the oil to the pot.
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When oil is hot add the morita chilies and fry until the chilies start to puff up. This should take less than 30 seconds.
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Transfer chilies to blender. Then fry the arbol chilies for a few seconds until slightly darkened in color. Then transfer to blender.
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Fry the garlic cloves until they turn a golden color and transfer to blender.
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Let the chilies and the oil in the pot cool for about 10-15 min.
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Blend the ingredients in the blender for about 10 seconds or until ground into a pulp, add a little bit of the oil if needed.
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Add the rest of the oil and blend for 20 seconds more.
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Transfer salsa to a bowl and add vinegar and salt to taste.
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Serve and refrigerate any leftovers.
Recipe Video
Sarah @ Champagne Tastes says
I love this! Salsa with out of season tomatoes never tastes as good– this is a great idea!
Jenni says
This looks like a lovely sauce!! Thanks for sharing!
Mark, Compass & Fork says
I really love making home made salsas. So good for you and you know exactly what is in them rather than store-bought. Those chilies appeal to my sense of adventure. Always nice to try new things.
Christine says
I’m always looking for new salsa recipes – This one looks amazing!
Michele says
THis is such a different salsa for me! But I’m kind of with your husband…. I bet it was great on the stuffing!
Juan says
My wife Deidre loves the salsa specially when we top it off on tacos or quesadillas, it’s wonderful! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Carissa says
You’re welcome Juan, I’m so glad you all liked it! 🙂
Dennis carter says
Would really love ke to make this recipe. I cannot find the macha chilies dried or otherwise. I live in Los Angeles area. Thanks!!
Carissa says
Have you looked in a Mexican market or grocery store? If you still can’t ind them you can try Amazon.
Dennis carter says
Going to try northgate gonzales next. Can’t find on Amazon. Thanks!
Carissa says
What are you typing in on Amazon? I can find a bunch of them by tping in morita chiles.
Dennis Carter says
Guess I typed it in wrong for Amazon b cause I tried itagain and found them. Thanks! I can’t wait to try this.
Carissa says
You’re welcome!! Let me know what you think of it please!
Tam says
Two questions: Would any other more common dried chili’s be similar like Ancho? Next, in Texas a lot of salsa recipes with little or no tomatoes use chicken or pork stock to replace or lessen the oil.. Do you think that might work here or any other kiquid? My family practically drinks salsa. In fact when mu daughter was 18 months ood she grabbed the salsa bowl at a restaurant and drank the whoke bowl with no ill effects. My cravings were chips and salsa and she still is a salsa scientist now surpassing her mom at 25. Lol.
Carissa says
Hi Tam! I wouldn’t suggest any other kind of liquid besides oil. Olive oil is the best. The salsa last a long time in the fridge because of the oil. As for chilis I know that people use all kinds of dried chiles in their salsa macha. My favorite are morita. I have also used chipotle and arbol in the past and it’s always turned out fantastic! You could definitely give it a try with the ancho chiles. If you do I’d love to hear how it turned out!
Monali Parmar says
I am so glad i found this! I tried Salsa macha recently at a food stall in San antonio and was blown away by the taste and texture. I will definitely be making this soon! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Carissa says
Its good stuff right? Ive never tried a salsa like it. I really hope you like my recipe and you’re welcome! 🙂
Dennis carter says
Finally made this. Amazing. Easy to make and made eggs taste just great. Will be a fan for sure. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Carissa says
Yayy!! I’m so happy you liked it! I like it on eggs too! You are very welcome Dennis, thank you for telling me how it turned out!
Amani says
Do you think I can make this with a habanero pepper to make it spicy? I love extra spicy salsa and can handle the heat. Would it be ok to add a habanero to the oil mix?
Carissa says
I’ve never done that so I can’t say how it would turn out. But if you want extra spicy salsa try it with only arbol peppers. I do this all the time when I can’t find morita peppers. It’s very very hot!!
David Reed says
I am so thrilled to find this recipe! A few weeks ago I had lunch at a small “mom and pop” Mexican restaurant that had recently opened. No frills – just shared tables, chairs, and of course – food. I noticed on the table was what I initially believed was a really out of place jar of chinese hot oil. I wasn’t too thrilled about having a taste – it seemed too weird – but gosh am I glad I did. If no one had been looking, I swear I could have turned the jar straight into my and drink it. The oil was incredibly tasty and smokey, with a bit of heat to round things off. Ever since I’ve searched for a recipe to try and recreate it. This appears to be close to what I imagine the oil to be. I’m eager to give it a try. Thanks so much for posting it.
Carissa says
You’re so welcome David! I really hope you like the recipe. Oh and those “mom and pop” Mexican restaurants are the best!
Rosemary parker says
You mention to add oil then later on in the recipe it says afd remaining oil how much oil should i first add
Carissa says
Add all of the oil to the pot in order to fry the ingredients. Then you add a little to the blender when grinding the chilies and garlic. Then add the rest. I hope that clears it up.