The sauce is hotter than the average roasted chillies blend. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

Till about a year ago, chef Ram Chander of Asia Kitchen and Bar and would normally roast the chillies, make a paste of it and add the mixture to the meat or vegetables that he was cooking when he wanted to up the heat quotient. But it was on owner Anjan Chatterjee's suggestion that he decided to whip up a smoked chilli sauce. Since then, he hasn't reverted to the old technique. And, for good reason. "Smoking the chillies has added a new dimension and depth to the flavour and heat level of the dish. Since Indians aren't afraid of spice and strong flavours, I thought the technique would work," he says.