Flame On: 7 Best Homegrown Hot Sauces That Can Spice Up Any Meal

This writer's personal favourite hot sauce, Sprig's Bhut Jolokia sauce is hot as advertised. It's made with one of the hottest chillis in the world, the Bhut Jolokia or Ghost Pepper, and you need a few drops to instantly turn any dish into a fireball. We have used this sauce in almost everything — sunny sides, marinades for meat, sandwiches, ramen broths, mayo, and salsa. In terms of flavour profile, apart from the intense heat, you get a nice kick that doesn't overpower the rest of the flavour. Unless you pour the whole bottle in. 

Price: INR 349 

Best Paired With: Soups, Ramen, Sandwiches, Dips, Marinades

East By North East (ENE) has several variants of hot sauces but our favourites are the Hot Chilli and Extra Hot Chilli Sauces. The main ingredient, which you should have already guessed by the brand's name, is bhut jolokia. If we were to compare it to Sprig's Bhut Jolokia, this one packs a punch that's just a notch lower. A few drops of this is enough to make unsuspecting people weep while those who love the heat will relish every drop of it. The best thing about the sauce is that it's made with bhut jolokia puree, not powder. 

Price: INR 200 

Best Paired With: Dips, Sandwich Spreads, Noodles

Sikkim's Dalle Chillis are known for their firebolt flavour and the fact that it's one of the spiciest chillis in the world. These Dalle Khursani or Red Cherry Peppers go into Postcard's Sikkim Hot Sauce. You'll find that the sauce is basically bottled with Dalle's high pungency, making this a hot sauce through and through. Add drops of this in your noodles, meat, or just about anything including fried eggs which this writer often has.

Price: INR 199

Best Paired With: Salads, Dips, Marinades

We absolutely love this hot sauce because the bhut jolokias are Lacto-fermented to give that nice, bright tang. The spice is tame but still there and mixed with house-brewed pineapple vinegar, giving the sauce a funky flavour. We always have a bottle of this in our pantry. The Classic variant is our favourite but gives the Smoked variant a try too. It features smoked but jolokias.

Price: INR 190

Best Paired With: Noodles, Dimsums, Fried Food, and Dips

For this writer, kanthari molagu or bird's eye chilli is something that he holds dear. Having grown up eating them, it's home. Ishka Farms white kanthari hot sauce is home too. What's interesting about this hot sauce is that it's perked up with green peppercorns, and salt capers, making this hot sauce, not just a dipping sauce but also an excellent marinade. Overall, the hot sauce packs enough heat without numbing your palate — you can get that salty umami from the capers along with the burst of heat from the peppercorn and that sharp spicy kick from the chillis. 

Price: INR 295 

Best Paired With: Marinades, Sandwiches, Fried Food, Dips

We've been fans of Naagin for a while and have tried all their hot sans the newly launched The 65 (must make a note to buy it soon). We were quite surprised as to how we liked Naagin's Kantha Bomb more than the Smoky Bhoot. Mind you, the Smoky Bhoot packs a good punch — it does have bhut jolokia. But we love that grounded, fresh flavours. Plus, a green hot sauce that's so much better than your off-the-rack green chilli hot sauce. We also like The Original that's made from Sankeshwari chill — ideal for aspiring hot sauce heads.

Price: INR 250

Best Paired With: Sandwich Spreads, Fried Food, Dips, Cooking Sauce 

We honestly love the fact that they don't add sugar. And we also love the fact that they use Dalle chillis. It's got a sharper flavour of the chillis but nothing overpowering. We spike our sandwiches, dips, and mayo with this! The 60 ml bottles gets over quite quickly, so we recommend buying a few extra bottles whenever you are ordering. 

Price: INR 199

Best Paired With: Soups, Noodles, Rice Bowls, Eggs, Sandwiches, Dips