Sos Ti-Malis

This is the sauce that goes with the Bef Sale recipe that I just posted, and it will go with the Griyo recipe I will be making in the near future.  This sauce has a story behind it.  In Haitian folklore there are many stories about Bouki (sometimes called Uncle Bouki) and Ti Malice.  Ti Malice is a sneaky guy, and Bouki is his simple and gullible "friend" that usually falls for his tricks.  Bouki kept coming over to Ti Malice's house at mealtime, because he knew Ti Malice would have to share his meat with him, as Haitian custom dictates.  Ti Malice was getting tired of it, so he made a very spicy sauce to put on the meat, hoping it would deter Bouki from coming over to eat his food.  But Bouki loved the sauce and told everyone about the sauce that Ti Malice had made for him.  And that's where the name comes from.  The cookbook author included this story with the recipe, but I have paraphrased it for you here.  The kids and I got a book from the Bangor library once called Uncle Bouki of Haiti, and it had a lot of stories about poor hapless Uncle Bouki and how he kept getting tricked by Ti Malice.  I would like to own that book, but it's old (1940s) and amazon.com has one copy of it available for $40.  And I do not $40 want it.  But if anyone sees it at a yard sale or anything...

Sos Ti-Malis
1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 shallots, finely chopped
1/4 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 to 3 tbsp pikliz vinegar (see separate post)
juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 tbsp)

In saucepan, heat oil on medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, and shallots.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes.  Add peppers, tomato paste, salt, black pepper, pikliz, and lime juice.  Cook and stir for 3 minutes.  Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.

This smelled great and I think it's close to the real thing.