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Molho de Piri-Piri (Mozambican Peri-peri Sauce)

Molho de Piri-Piri (Mozambican Peri-peri Sauce) is a traditional Mozambican recipe for a classic sauce of piri-piri chillies, garlic and thyme blitzed with lemon juice and olive oil. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Mozambican version of: Mozambican Peri-peri Sauce (Molho de Piri-Piri).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

50 minutes

Additional Time:

(+7 days maturing)

Makes:

1 jar

Rating:

Tags : Chilli RecipesSauce RecipesVegetarian RecipesSpice RecipesHerb RecipesMozambique Recipes

It was the Portuguese that introduced the small, fiery, upright-growing Piri-piri chilli pepper to Africa. These hot peppers (known as African Red Devils or African Birds' Eye Chillies) spread so quickly through the continent and grew so readily in the wild that many thought they were African native plants. It was also the Portuguese that introduced the basic piri-piri sauce to Africa. Now versions of this sauce are made from Kenya south to the Cape and north to Guinea and Cape Verde.

The sauce can be used as a marinade, a condiment or as a flavouring during cooking. However, its heartland and homeland remains Mozambique where a little is used to flavour most dishes. Versions are made in West Africa, but often dried piri-piries are blended with fresh habanero and Scotch Bonnet chillies there to make even more fiery condiments.

Though Mozambique is the heartland of the sauce, where it is still prepared at home by most cooks, many think that the best commercial form is Nali Sauce from Malawi. I also have a recipe for a version of Nali Sauce here on this site.

If you can only get dried piri-piri chillies then soak in a little warm water over night before use. If you absolutely cannot get any, then substitute Thai Birds' Eye chillies.

Ingredients:

100ml light olive oil
6 tbsp fresh piri-piri chillies, finely minced
1 1/2 tsp ground paprika
1 garlic clove, crushed to a paste
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chopped oregano or thyme
juice of 1 large lemon

Method:

Combine the chillies, garlic, paprika, salt, thyme and lemon juice in a blender. Process to a coarse paste.

With the blender still running, gradually add the olive oil in a slow steady stream until you have the consistency of a thick pouring custard.

Transfer to a thoroughly cleaned jar. Secure tightly with a lid and store in the refrigerator. It will mature with age and I typically leave it for a week before opening the jar and using.

It typically keeps for up to 4 weeks in the refrigerator. Note that the capsaicin (the 'heat') component of the oil is a strange molecule that has one end that lives in water and another end that lives in oil. As the sauce ages, the oil will pull more of the chemical out of the chillies, so the sauce will become noticeably hotter with age.