Harissa is In

So delicious harissa draws the birds from their roosts.

I first came across harissa as an ingredient in my cookbook on Moroccan recipes. But even though it had a recipe on spooning out a home-made version to use as a spice, I had resisted from making and bottling it for two reasons. For one, I cook Moroccan once in a blue moon and the home-made version stores for only three months. For another, when I do cook a dish from that part of the world, I've made do swapping Nonya curry paste for this chilli paste of a North Tunisian origin.

But all that was about to change when I chanced upon commercially bottled harissa in a local supermarket in the heart of Paddington in Sydney, Australia. Using it for the first time authentico in my home-cooked dish opened up my taste buds to the essence of Moroccan flavours. It is as far a cry from a Nonya curry paste as the Arctic is to the Amazon jungle.

And for the first time, I can understand why harissa is so popular and vital an ingredient in the very souls of African cuisine; as I can now comprehend its migration and nestling down in the domestic and commercial kitchens of Morocco. Even the hearths in Europe are opening their doors to this amazing spicy concoction for their fusion cuisine.

So I've made up my mind that when the bought bottle of harissa eventually runs out, I'll put my nose into that Moroccan cook book and whip some up of my own. And yes, that's the only way I can ensure a constant ready supply: the shops in Singapore haven't caught on to stocking this kitchen miracle yet.