A spicy Saudi tomato sauce with garlic, green pepper, and cumin, served with kabsa, rice, and grilled meats
Daqoos is the spicy red tomato sauce that never leaves the Saudi table, ladled over kabsa, mandi, and rice and served with grilled meats.
We make it from fresh blended tomatoes that we sauté with garlic and hot green pepper and let simmer a little until it thickens. Every household has its favorite heat level, some add more pepper and some soften it, and its refreshing flavor keeps balancing the richness of the main dishes.
Blend the tomatoes in the blender until smooth, or grate them on a coarse grater and discard the skins.
Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat and sauté the crushed garlic and hot green pepper for about a minute until they become fragrant without burning.
Pour in the blended tomatoes and the parsley, season with cumin, black pepper, and salt, and stir the mixture well.
Once it boils, lower the heat and let the sauce simmer gently for about ten minutes until it thickens slightly and its flavor concentrates.
Remove it from the heat and let it cool to lukewarm, and serve it warm or cold alongside kabsa, rice, and grilled meats.
The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar, while the glycemic load (GL) measures how much a full serving raises it. Together they give the complete picture.
A low value (≤55) means a gradual rise in blood sugar — the most suitable range for diabetes and insulin resistance.
Glycemic load reflects the impact of the full serving. To lower it: take half a serving, or pair the recipe with a source of protein and fiber.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet per FDA food-label reference values — your daily needs may be higher or lower. Values are derived from the recipe's ingredients via the USDA database.
The most common problems when preparing Saudi Daqoos (Spicy Tomato Sauce), and how to fix them:
Let it simmer over low heat longer until its water evaporates, or add a spoonful of tomato paste so the texture firms up and the color deepens.
Tomatoes are sometimes very acidic; add a pinch of sugar or half a grated carrot to soften the acidity without changing the taste.
Remove the pepper's seeds and inner membranes or reduce the number of pods, for most of the heat is in the seeds and membranes, not the flesh.
Keep it in an airtight container for up to five days, and its flavor grows more concentrated the next day.
Freeze it in small molds for up to two months, and thaw it in the refrigerator or over low heat when needed.
| Original Ingredient | Tested Substitute | Ratio | Flavor Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| fresh tomatoes | canned blended tomatoes | same weight, 500 g | Faster and darker in color; reduce the salt because canned is salted |
| hot green pepper | hot red pepper or dried chili | to taste | Red is a little sweeter and dried chili is hotter |
| parsley | fresh coriander | same weight, 10 g | Coriander is closer to the Gulf flavor |
| olive oil | vegetable oil | same weight, 30 ml | A more neutral flavor, and the amount can be reduced to lower the calories |
| Ingredient | Half the amount | Amount (base) | Double |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grated tomatoes | 250 g | 500 g | 1000 g |
| Hot green pepper | 15 g | 30 g | 60 g |
| Garlic | 5 g | 10 g | 20 g |
| Olive oil | 15 ml | 30 ml | 60 ml |
| Salt | 1 g | 2 g | 4 g |
Control the heat level by the number of pepper pods; removing the seeds and the inner membranes softens the heat considerably because most of it is in them.
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