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South African Peri Peri Sauce Recipe also know as Piri Piri Sauce is just like Nando's Hot Peri Peri Sauce. It's simply magic in a bottle - spicy, sweet, sour & salty, all at once. Watch the Video recipe & quickly learn how to make this home-made best Peri Peri Sauce without African Bird's Eye Chilies.
Nando's Peri Peri Sauce Recipe Video
Peri Peri Sauce Recipe
This Peri Peri Sauce recipe is just like Nando's hot Peri peri Sauce. If you are crazy about Nando's Piri Piri sauce collection than do not miss this recipe because it's as bold as Nando's 😉
And if you are a spicy food lover you cannot just miss a fantastic recipe of a super versatile hot sauce that's so damn good on every single thing like chicken, fish, shrimp, tofu & even salad or soups.
You can even dip your favorite toasted pita, tortillas chips or regular potato chips in this extremely flavorful spicy sauce! It acts as a dip too 😉
This Piri Piri Sauce is so so good & the recipe is so insanely easy that I always have a few jars in my fridge.
After all. who doesn't love a super easy, quick & delicious sauce cum dip recipe that has a wonderful shelf life!
This African Peri Peri Sauce will give you the best flavors, exact amount of sourness, a hint of sweetness, a super spicy kick - all without the use of African Bird's Eye Chilies.
Though a signature Piri Piri sauce always demands a special variety of red chili peppers known as African Bird's eye chili abundantly grown in parts of Africa.
But, you can always make this sauce without African Bird's eye chilies & we'll tell you how 🙂
So, let's get making the best ever Nando's style hot peri peri sauce by following some amazing tips & tricks shared below. Just scroll down!
Peri Peri pronunciation
Listen the Peri Peri pronunciation at "How to Pronounce".
What is Peri Peri?
Peri Peri is a hot pepper known as African Bird's Eye Chilli that's grown abundantly in the African soil like Mozambique & also various other parts.
Peri Peri in Swahili means Pepper-Pepper. It's is also known by the names Piri Piri & Pili Pili.
It's this Peri Peri hot pepper that Nando's uses to make their classic & extremely popular spicy hot sauce known as Peri Peri Sauce.
These African Bird's Eye Chilies taste amazing & according to Nando's here's their benefits:
Source Courtesy : Nando's
- Piri Piri chilli seeds are rich in Vitamins A, B & C.
- It's rich in Capsaicin that helps enhance mood. When you consume it your pupils will dilate, your metabolic rate will increase & you'll have a sudden rush of endorphins!
- Peri Peri is an extremely good natural preservative.
What is Peri Peri Sauce?
Peri Peri Sauce is a spicy hot sauce that's commonly made with African Bird's Eye Chilies, onion, garlic, lemon, vinegar, oil, salt & oregano. There are 3 quick steps to make it at home - roasting, blending & cooking.
A good Piri Piri sauce is spicy & hot and tastes amazing as a marinade, seasoning & accompaniment. It makes a great dip & adds so much flavor to protein dishes like chicken, fish, tofu.
In today's recipe you'll find no African Bird's Eye chilies.
So yes, you can totally make a wonderful lip-smacking Peri Peri sauce without these special variety of chilies that are definitely so hard to find.
We at Foodies Terminal used Organic red Serrano peppers & organic red bell peppers to make this sauce one of its kind. It's as good as Nando's but without the African Bird's Eye Chilies.
What is Peri Peri Sauce made of?
Peri Peri Sauce is made of hot chili peppers known as African Bird's Eye Chilies, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano & salt.
Some variations also use thai hot chilies or red Serrano pepper or cayenne pepper instead of African Bird's Eye Chilies.
There are in-fact various regional variations of this sauce throughout Africa and few recipes also include herbs like basil & tarragon instead of oregano or along with it.
South African Peri Peri Sauce Recipe Ingredients
This is what we used to make today's home-made Peri Peri Sauce Nando's Style. We made it without African Bird's Eye Chilies.
And the below ingredients resulted in a spicy, hot, sweet, sour & salty Mozambique Piri Piri sauce.
- Red Serrano Pepper.
- Bell Pepper red.
- Red Indian Chili Pepper.
- Red Onion
- Garlic
- Apple Cider Vinegar.
- Lemon zest
- Lemon Juice
- Olive Oil
- Oregano
- Bay Leaf (optional)
- Kosher Salt
Pro Tip: Instead of Serrano pepper you may use cayenne pepper or red Jalapeno pepper. And instead of red Indian chili pepper go for Thai chilies.
South African Piri Piri Sauce Recipe Ingredients swap ideas:
If you do not have a few recipe ingredients handy do not worry at all, you can still make a fantastic Piri Piri sauce with a few closest substitute.
After all a good Piri Piri Sauce is always open to personal touches. The recipe varies throughout Africa itself. Every region has it's very own version of this hot sauce.
Here's a few ideas to make your home-made African peri peri sauce experience the best 😉
We've made this Mozambique hot sauce with every substitute mentioned below & we like them all!
- African Bird's Eye Chilli - Sub it with thai red chilies, Indian red chilies, Red Serrano pepper, red Jalapeno pepper or cayenne pepper. In fact a a blend of any of these peppers along with some red bell peppers will give you the best flavor punch. You can of course control the amount of heat in the recipe.
- Red Wine vinegar: Swap it with apple cider vinegar.
- Oregano: You may use basil & Tarragon along with Oregano or you may completely skip the oregano & use basil & Tarragano instead. The choice is yours.
- Kosher Salt: You can replace it with Sea Salt or Himalayan Pink Salt.
Pro Tip: A mix of red Serrano pepper + red bell pepper + Indian Red chili pepper = Fantastic Peri Peri Sauce that's made without African Bird's Eye Chilies!
3 Tips Nando's Peri Peri Sauce Recipe:
- For BEST flavors dry roast a few ingredients: Roast the onion, garlic & red bell pepper on a skillet grill before grinding them. Do not skip this step. The roasted flavors will make the sauce so so intense with deep smokey flavors.
- Add a few un-roasted Serrano peppers to the blender jar for that extra spicy kick.
- Cook the blended sauce: Cooking the sauce for a few minutes will increase its shelf life. This process will also enhance the smokey flavor of the South African Peri Peri Sauce recipe.
What does Peri Peri Sauce taste like?
Peri Peri Sauce tastes sweet, sour, spicy, salty & all at once! This spicy hot sauce has enormous flavors & quiet a kick from the spicy African Bird's eye chilies.
What is the difference between Peri Peri and Piri Piri?
There is no difference between Peri Peri and Piri Piri. They are both the same thing that is African Bird's Eye Chili. It's only the variation in spelling and pronunciation in different languages.
Peri Peri in Swahili means Pepper Pepper. And the portuguese popularly call the African Bird's Eye Chili as Piri Piri & it's also known the same in Malawi.
In fact, in the whole community of Bantu speaking Africa the African Bird's Eye Chili is known by these variations - Peri Peri, Piri Piri or Pili Pili.
They all denote the same thing that is - African Bird's Eye Chili & also the hot sauce.
Peri Peri Sauce uses
This hot & spicy sauce is super versatile & you can use it as a marinade, accompaniment or simply as a seasoning.
- South African Peri Peri Sauce Recipe makes a fantastic marinade for various kinds of proteins like chicken, fish & tofu.
- It tastes best when used as a dipping sauce for chips, tortilla chips, toasted pita, french fries, celery sticks, carrot sticks etc.
- You can even add a splash of Piri Piri sauce to your soups & curries to make them taste the best.
- How about a Salad drizzled with spicy South African Peri Peri sauce? We even love to slather our sandwiches with this Mozambique style Piri Piri sauce.
- Slather your Sandwich bread with this spectacular Nandos style Peri Peri Sauce for some kick & awesomeness 🙂
You have endless possibilities to adapt to it's deep flavors & make it your own.
Whatever way you choose to use your home-made Peri Peri Sauce recipe it will always guarantee outrageous results that's super addictive 😀
How Peri Peri Sauce is made? Step by Step
How to make Peri Peri Sauce at home?
- Dry Roast
On a skillet grill pan dry roast the cubed red bell peppers, onions & the whole garlic pods.
- Blend everything well
Add the roasted ingredients with the rest of the stuffs into a blender jar or a food processor & blend well.
- Cook on stove top
Pour the blended sauce in a skillet set over medium heat. Throw in a bay leaf, saute for a couple of seconds & fish out the bay leaf. Add olive oil & vinegar. Mix well. Cook for 1-2 mins. Turn off the heat. The Piri Piri Sauce is ready!
Peri Peri Sauce Recipe - FAQs
Yes, peri peri sauce is absolutely gluten free.
Nando's Peri Peri sauce contains African Bird's eye chilies that are hand grown in Africa, salt, garlic, lemon, onion, oil & vinegar.
Yes, peri peri sauce is spicy. But, when you make it at home you can control the spice level in your sauce. We used Serrano peppers, indian red chili pepper & red bell peppers for a medium spiced Peri Peri sauce.
No, home-made peri peri sauce does not contain any eggs, dairy or nuts. Piri Piri sauce also does not contain any tomatoes.
Home-made peri peri sauce is keto friendly.
Today's recipe of Home-made peri peri sauce will last for 7 days in the fridge.
Peri peri sauce comes from Africa & it's the signature sauce of the land of Africa because African Bird's eye chilies are native to this land.
Originally Peri Peri sauce is very hot because the African Bird's eye chilies used to prepare the sauce are very spicy. But, when you choose to make the sauce at home you have better control over the spice level. You can replace the African Bird's eye chilies with less spicier varieties ( already mentioned in the post, check the ingredients swap section) to make the sauce less hot.
Check out this sauce recipe from Foodies Terminal!
South African Peri Peri Sauce Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 cup cubed red bell pepper (roasted)
- 1 cup cubed red onion (roasted)
- 5 fresh garlic cloves (roasted)
- 2 whole Red Serrano peppers
- 1 Indian or Thai red chili
- ¼ +¼ tsp lemon zest
- 2+2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2+2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Bay leaf (optional)
- Kosher Salt (according to taste)
Instructions
- Set a grill skillet over high heat. Add the red bell peppers, red onions & garlic pods with skin on. Dry roast them until charred & black spots form. Remove from the grill skillet set aside & remove the skin from the garlic pods.
- Next, once the roasted ingredients are cooled to room temperature add them to a blender jar or a food processor, throw in the red serrano peppers, thai red chili, ¼ tsp lemon zest, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, oregano, black pepper, kosher salt. Blend them into a paste.
- Now, set a skillet over medium heat & pour the blended puree. Throw in a bay leaf (optional), add the rest of the apple cider vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice & olive oil. Mix everything well. Saute for just 2 mins. Fish out the bay leaf & discard.
- The Peri Peri sauce is ready. Use it as an accompaniment, spread, marinade or a dip.
Notes
- Measuring units used, 1 cup = 240 ml & 1 tbsp = 5 ml.
- Do not skip roasting the bell peppers, onions & garlic. Roasting them will give a subtle flavor to the Peri Peri sauce recipe.
- You may use more Thai red chili peppers if you prefer very hot Piri Piri Sauce.
- Bay leaf is not mandatory you may omit using it.
Nutrition
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Tabu says
Hi are the nutrition values for the whole recipe ?
Foodies Terminal says
Yes Tabu. Hope you like the recipe.
Senri says
Hi, what is 2+2tblspoons? And 1/4 + 1/4
Foodies Terminal says
Hey Senri,
The following amounts are used twice in the recipe, so for better understanding of my readers I mentioned it that way. Let me know if you have any other queries regarding the recipe and thank you stopping by 🙂 - Meghna.
Linda says
Love it, thank you so much!
Foodies Terminal says
Thanks to you Linda for trying the recipe 🙂 I am so glad that you loved it. Do try our Peri Peri Chicken Recipe cooked with the amazing Peri Peri Sauce it's a Copycat Nando's recipe and makes a delicious meal or appetizer anytime 🙂 - Meghna.