Piri piri

'African Devil' (African Bird's Eye or African red devil) is a cultivar of Capsicum frutescens, one of the sources of chili pepper, that grows both wild and domesticated. It is a small and extremely spicy member of the capsicum (Capsicum) genus.

The plants are usually very bushy and grow in height to 45-120 centimeters, with leaves of 4–7 cm length and 1.3-1.5 cm width. The fruits are generally tapered to a blunt point and measure up to 2.5 centimeters long. Immature pod color is green, mature color is bright red or purple. Some varieties of birdseye measure up to 175,000 Scoville Heat Units.

Piri piri, Pili pili or Peri peri is the name used in Mozambique and Angola to describe the African bird's-eye chili. The variations in spelling derive from the various pronunciations of the word in parts of Africa, although "Piri piri" is the correct spelling in Portuguese, which literally means chilly chilly in Swahili.

In Mozambican cuisine, Piri piri is often used in preparing sauces and marinades for roast and grilled dishes, especially chicken and various fish. Piri piri is widely used in a vast number of dishes of Portuguese cuisine.

Nando's, the Portuguese-themed chicken restaurant, originated in South Africa from Portuguese who left Mozambique after the independence in 1975. The chain uses piri-piri in many of its dishes, and helped popularise them worldwide. The company, however, prefers the common South African spelling Peri peri on its menus and branded sauces. Other fast food restaurants such as KFC are also now using the Piri piri sauce in some of its dishes.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piri_piri
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