Sikil P'ak (pumpkin seed dip)

This is a Mayan appetizer, prepared from pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, cilantro, chives, and Habanero chile. It had a bit of a grainy texture, but tasted good on tortilla chips. It was unusual, but not nearly spicy enough.

Both whole and hulled seeds were first roasted in a dry frying pan. I could only find salted whole pumpkin seeds, and they were really salty - so I washed them off first. The seeds browned nicely and smelled good. I ground them in my old coffee grinder. They were mixed with broiled tomatoes (I had a bag left from last summer - frozen roasted tomatoes - and they gave it a good tomato punch).

I did too careful a job seeding the Habanero chile, and thus took out the heat. If you decide to make this, be sure to taste and adjust to get the heat right.