The monsoon is setting in, and with it comes the great Indian rainy-day appetite. Be it afternoon pakora breaks, a smash burger after a long day at work, or a warm bowl of soupy noodles at midnight, it’s the season we crave more, snack more, and ape the recipes that seem to deluge our Instagram feeds this time of year.
And the perfect way to make your creations taste like you can cook? A good hot sauce. From the mini Tabasco Florence Pugh totes around in her Valentino to the Yellowbird Dua Lipa carries in her Birkin, it seems to be every It-girl’s must-have accessory.
Spicy, savoury, vinegary, this condiment perfectly complements all your favorite snacks. The best part: you no longer have to look abroad. A wave of Indian makers has been heating up the hot sauce scene…and tinkering with it. Ranging from sauces that pack weep-worthy Scoville levels to clean, probiotic ones, there’s something homegrown for everyone. Some cater to hot sauce purists, while others lean into experimentation, pairing chilli with ingredients like truffle for a more gourmet taste.
Fruit, too, has somehow found its way into the bottle—from Forager and Co.’s pineapple vinegar-based sauce to El Diablo’s sweet-spicy-sour cranberry ghost chilli. Below, 17 homegrown hot sauces worth clearing pantry space for:
Papa Patel’s
Based in Mumbai, Papa Patel’s casts a global net with its offerings, which range from a 14-spice coastal Malvani sauce to an Asian soy fusion. Their classic red, made using chillies from the north-east, has been perfected over seven years.
Side note: Visit the Papa Patel Instagram for adorable Papa Patel, or ‘Pops’, content, including an “awesome” playlist you can jam to in the kitchen.
El Diablo Sauces
Started in Delhi by husband-wife duo Nikhil Kutty and Tanya Nambiar, El Diablo has a range that runs from mild to seriously spicy, so there’s something for every threshold. Its signature is the sweet-spicy-sour cranberry ghost chilli, though playful oddballs like Honey Boom Boom and a bacon-spiked Baconite show the brand’s love for experimentation.
Hotchaa!
This mother-daughter passion project made its name with what it bills as India’s first truffle hot sauce, which blends chilli with truffle for a spicy-umami profile. Their range is all small-batch and fermented, from a sharp OG to a smoky bhut hot ketchup and a Naga chilli sriracha, with several of their recipes using olive oil as the healthier option.
Kaaram OK Please
Kaaram OK Please wears its south Indian identity proudly, with truck-art packaging and a name that riffs on the ‘Horn OK Please’ slogan that has marked every road trip traffic jam. With its production team being all-female superstars, it uses local ingredients and lacto-fermentation across three flavours—kandhaari and kokum, pachimirapkai and tulsi, and bajji molaga and kadugu.
Ishka Farms
Ishka Farms’ Kerala hot sauce uses the rare white kanthari chilli, also known as the bird’s eye chilli, which is native to regions in the north of the state, including Wayanad and Idukki. Ishka Farms elevates the kanthari using green peppercorns and salty capers in their recipe. Savoury and sharp, the brand notes their sauce pairs well with your favourite sandwich.
Peero
Peero’s cherry pepper sauce uses the notorious dalle khursani, a cherry chilli that’s a staple in momo chutneys and widely grown in Sikkim as well as northern West Bengal. Another small-batch brand, their recipe completely excludes added sugar, making it perfect for purists who want chilli to take centre stage.
