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African Pepper Sauce

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Homemade African Pepper Sauce that is primarily made with habanero, garlic, onion, basil and other spices. A versatile sauce that can be used as a condiment, dip, or appetizer component.

African Pepper sauce

In West Africa, pepper sauce is an essential partner for puff-puff, grilled meat , fish and eggs or splendid with any food. There is just something about pepper sauce that takes a dish from bland, boring to flavorful and enjoyable. As you might have guessed pepper sauce is sparkingly hot because of the refreshing taste of the hot pepper used in the blend.

African pepper sauce

Although the ingredients varies with the cook one thing is constant, – Hot pepper .There are so many kinds of pepper you can use in this sauce; habenera, scotch bonnet, chili I do prefer scotch bonnet -if available, however , in my neck of the woods, habenera is a good replacement. one huge  difference between hot sauce and pepper sauce ( African style).

African Pepper Sauce

Most  authentic West African pepper sauce , I have had the pleasure of trying,  contain very negligeable  amount of vinegar- if any at all. The basic ingredients  usually consists of  pepper, salt, vegetable oil and or maggi , ranging from  mild to ferocious with a thick structure . I am a wimp…so am in between .

African Pepper Sauce

In this sauce, I added extra  tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil and parsley, to create a  versatile sauce that can be used as a condiment, dip, or appetizer component. Adjust the tomatoes to suit your taste buds and spice tolerance or just omit them.

Watch How to Make It

 

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African Pepper Sauce

Homemade African Pepper Sauce that is primarily made with habanero, garlic, onion, basil and other spices. A versatile sauce that can be used as a condiment, dip, or appetizer component.
4.9 from 19 votes
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 30 mins
African

Ingredients

  • 10 peppers Habenero, scotch bonnet pepper
  • 1 medium onion
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoon bouillon powder or Maggi
  • 2 basil leaves
  • 2 tablespoon parsley
  • 1-3 roma tomatoes adjust to for spiciness
  • 1/2 -1 cup vegetable oil
  • salt

Instructions

  • Coarsely chop the tomatoes, onions , and discard stems of the pepper. Then through the tomatoes, onions, garlic, pepper, parsley basil, Maggie in the food processor along with as much oil as desired.
  • Pour the pepper mixture into a small sauce pan bring to a boil and slowly simmer for about 15 minutes. Stirring frequently to prevent burns. Adjust for salt
  • Let it cool, pour in a mason jar or a container with a lid and store in a fridge for about a week or more. In order for your pepper sauce to last a long time make sure it is fully covered in oil

Tips & Notes:

Another way to make pepper sauce is to boil the ingredient with a little of water , for about 15 minutes then blend with oil and serve.
Author: Immaculate Bites
Course: Main
Cuisine: African
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Pepper sauce

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  Pepper sauce

 

PEPPER-SAUCE

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Comments & Reviews

  1. Tracy says

    I always add fresh ginger, cilantro, and my own sundried tomatoes in olive oil, plus I use jalapeños because they’re less spicy but full of flavour. And a good dash of Bragg’s liquid aminos.

    Reply

  3. Nicole Akers says

    So simple and delicious! I only added one tomato, as I wanted to keep it spicy. However, one more would probably have been just right. I’m going to stir in some tomato paste to calm it down a bit.

    Reply

  5. John says

    You list Maggi(Maggie?) as an ingredient, but when I went looking for it, I found that that is actually a brand name with several different types of sauces. Which one should I be using, specifically.
    You also suggest bouillon as an alternative, but which type? Beef? Chicken? Vegetable?
    Sorry, but I like to make new(to me) recipes exactly by the instructions the first time, and make my own changes, if any, in subsequent attempts.

    Thanks!
    JR

    Reply

    • imma africanbites says

      Hi, Maggi granules or cubes is an alternative to bouillon powder. Any type would work, but I usually use chicken.

      Reply

  6. Shanel says

    Great sauce, left out the parsley and basil added a piece of ginger instead. Great flavour. Thanks for the recipe will definitely make it again

    Reply

    • ImmaculateBites says

      Hi Stephanie! Sorry, I haven’t tried making this with a longer shelf life in mind. This Pepper sauce should be stored in the fridge and it lasts for a week.

      Reply

  9. Katherine says

    This was perfect and so convenient than the long process of the main method.
    Tips: if you don’t have Maggie liquid, use soy sauce and add a pinch of Maggie to it. If you don’t have chicken stock you can use chicken broth from the store and add a pinch of Maggie
    add Maggie and salt while combining everything (shrimp, liver, veggies, seasoning, and rice) for taste and if it’s still bland, add extra curry! If it’s still not quite there yet, then repeat the process of adding Maggie, salt and curry but don’t overdo the curry! Curry will deepen the flavors immensely. This tasted just like the one my mom makes without the extra hassle of cooking the rice during the process. I cooked over 6 cups probably 9 for my family of 4. Thank you so much. The pepper sauce is delicious. I used store bought basil and parsley in a container instead of fresh ones and it was still amazing

    Reply

    • ImmaculateBites says

      Hi Katherine! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this feedback 🙂 ! Glad it worked out well for you.

      Reply

  10. Anna says

    Hi Imma, I made the pepper sauce and it was so delicious. The flavor goes with everything and it was easy to make.
    I have tried many of your recipes and all of them were great. Thanks so much

    Reply

  12. Toyin says

    Hello! I am wondering why you blended oil and the bouillon with pepper. Can it be added while simmering or does it taste better if added that way. Just trying to know if there is a reason for doing it that way.

    Reply

    • ImmaculateBites says

      Hello Toyin. Usually, when using a blender, you would need to add some water to ease the blending process. But adding water to this recipe will lead to one having to cook the pepper sauce for a little longer and before you know it, you would have a coughing fit due to all hot fumes from the pepper sauce. Hence, it is better to use the oil when blending the other ingredients. Also, it is way easier to just throw everything into the blender and be over and done with ; ).

      Reply

      • Ads says

        I make loads of different styles of chilli sauce,I stumbled across this thanks to Google. Used Trinidad Scorpion chillies and rapeseed oil, was delicious shall definitely be making more like this. Thanks!

        Reply

    • ImmaculateBites says

      Hello,
      Cut back on the pepper. Put half or quarter of the required amount of pepper(depending on your heat tolerance) and add 1-2 more tomatoes. This will help .

      Reply

    • malkit singh says

      you can add yogourt,milk or cream to reduce the heat of chillis,but the sauce may not stay long. Fungi may develop. So try adding oil right up to the top

      Reply

  16. bebe says

    So insomnia cooking and saw this African Pepper Sauce. So easy to throw together and prepare. Delicious result. Can’t stop putting this on everything. Next time i won’t remove seeds from all the habaneros as i was anticipating too much heat. Not the case. Love this site and Imma’s recipes. Next up Puff Puff.

    Reply

  17. john c says

    UM, Why do u callhabanero – Haberana (a couple of times in this recipe)?
    Also, how do we contact you to buy a cookbook and see what else you are up to?

    Reply

  18. Maxine says

    Sensational! I tasted this in church and wanted to find a recipe for a novice. This is just that. Simple clear and best of all delicious.

    Reply