This is delicious as a dipping sauce for chicken or prawn barbecue satays. It can also be used as a base for a Thai curry - use a couple of tablespoons per serving and dilute with some hot water.

1 - 2 large fresh red chillies
4 tbsp olive or groundnut oil
2 large shallots or 1 onion, roughly chopped
3 fat cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2cm cube fresh ginger, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp soft brown sugar
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla) or soy sauce
juice of 1 lime
4-5 tbsp coarse peanut butter

Slit open the chillies and discard the seeds and stalks. Roughly chop the flesh.

Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the chillies with the shallots or onion, garlic and ginger for about five minutes until softened.

Add spices, sugar, fish sauce or soy and 200ml (7fl oz) water.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat

Stir in lime juice and grind to a smooth paste with the Dualit hand blender.

Stir in the peanut butter and heat until smooth and then dilute with 100ml (3½ fl oz) more water.

When cool, scoop into a lidded jar. The sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to ten days.