How to Use Mr Naga & Know the Heat

“If you love smokiness from chili, enjoy a spicy heat, and appreciate the flavour complexities of curry you will love Mr Naga.”

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Two jars of Mr Naga hot pepper flakes with labels on a white background

How to Use Mr Naga

It is a cooking paste, not a dare. Here is how much to use, where to put it, and what to do when you have used too much.

Start with a quarter teaspoon

Mr Naga is concentrated. There is very little water and almost no filler in the jar, so it is far stronger by volume than any hot sauce you have used.

The rule: a quarter teaspoon, stirred through, tasted, then adjust. For a curry serving four people, half a teaspoon gives you warmth and smoke. A full teaspoon gives you a dish that people will comment on. Two teaspoons is a decision you are making on purpose.

Add it late. Stir it in during the last few minutes of cooking. Long simmering flattens the smoky top notes that make it worth buying.

Where it goes

In curries and dal. ¼ to ½ tsp stirred through at the end. Works in anything tomato-based, anything creamy, and especially in dal
In fried rice and noodles. One teaspoon through the wok in the last 30 seconds
In marinades. 1 tsp per 500g of chicken, lamb or prawns. Leave an hour. The oil carries it into the meat
In mayo, aioli or ketchup. 1 part Mr Naga to 6 parts sauce. Naga mayo is the gateway product. It converts more sceptics than anything else in this list
In BBQ sauce. Same ratio. Brush onto ribs or wings in the last five minutes of the grill
In butter. 1 tsp folded through 100g softened butter, rolled in baking paper, chilled. Melt over steak, corn, prawns, or a jacket potato
In pasta sauce. Surprisingly good in creamy and tomato sauces. Half a teaspoon into a carbonara or an arrabbiata
In soup and ramen. One spoon at the end of a bowl of ramen. Also: a tin of tomato soup, transformed
On eggs. A scrape through scrambled eggs, or on top of a fried egg on toast
In sandwiches and toasties. A thin spread. A cheese toastie with Mr Naga is one of the best things you can do on a weeknight
On a burger. Mixed through the mince before you form the patty, or spread on the bun

Which jar for which job

Use Original when the chilli is a supporting flavour: curries, rice, sandwiches, condiments. It is balanced, so it lifts a dish without taking it over.

Use Gold when you want to taste the naga itself: marinades, finishing sauces, compound butters, dressings. At 95% naga chilli it is more concentrated and more chilli-forward, so it holds its own against strong ingredients.

Three recipes to start with

Naga mayo, 2 minutes

6 tbsp mayonnaise, ½ tsp Mr Naga Original, squeeze of lime. Mix. Use on burgers, chips, chicken sandwiches, or as a dip for anything fried. This is the recipe that converts people.

Naga butter chicken, 30 minutes

Make your usual butter chicken. In the final three minutes, stir in ½ tsp of Mr Naga Original per two serves. Taste. Add more if you are brave. The smoke sits underneath the cream and completely changes the dish.

Naga BBQ wings, 40 minutes

Toss 1kg of wings with 1 tbsp oil and salt, roast at 220°C for 30 minutes. Mix 3 tbsp BBQ sauce with 1 tsp Mr Naga Gold, brush over the wings, return for 5 to 8 minutes. Serve with naga mayo, because you have already made it.

You have used too much. Here is what actually works.

Water does not work. Capsaicin is not water soluble, so you are just moving it around.

What works: dairy (milk, yoghurt, a spoon of raita), fat (a piece of buttered bread, a mouthful of rice with ghee), sugar (a spoonful of sugar held in the mouth), or acid (a slice of lemon).

In the dish itself: add yoghurt, cream, coconut milk, or more of the base ingredient. Acid, lemon or vinegar, also pulls the heat back.

On skin: wash with soap and oil, not water. And wash your hands before you touch your eyes or anyone else’s.