Malagueta Chile Pepper Stats
Length: 1 - 2"
Scientific Name: Capsicum frutescens var. malagueta
Other Names: malaguentinha, piri-piri, malaguetao, malagueto, malaguetta
Scoville Range: 60,000 - 100,000
Malagueta Chile Pepper Origin and History
The malagueta chile is widely used in Brazil, Mozambique, and Portugal. It is often confused with the unrelated melegueta pepper, a spice from West Africa. The confusion stems from when the Brazilian state of Bahia was a center of the slave trade. Apparently, slaves brought from Africa called the native Brazilian pepper by the Portuguese name for the West African spice.
The malagueta chile is one of the most widely used hot peppers in Brazil.
Malagueta Chile Pepper Description
The appearance and flavor of the small, tapered malagueta chile are similar to those of the pungent bird's eye or Thai chile. These searing hot red peppers have wrinkly skin. Markets typically carry two sizes, which are simply the same chile picked at different stages of growth. Locals may call the two sizes by different names. The smaller ones are "malaguetinha" in Brazil and "piri-piri" in Portugal and Mozambique. Brazilians call the larger ones "malaguetao," while the Portuguese call them "malagueta."
Malagueta Chile Pepper How to Serve or Use
Malagueta chiles can be used in a number of different ways, and at different stages of ripeness. They can be minced with oil, added to salsa, served as a table condiment, made into hot sauce, or used in recipes to season dishes.
Malagueta chiles make a spicy sauce for meat and fish. The malagueta chile is an ingredient in many regional dishes of Mozambique and Brazil, particularly xinxim, acaraje, and other Bahian street food. This street food is typically sold by women who wear white cotton dresses and colorful caps and headscarves. In Portugal, malagueta chiles are mainly cooked with poultry.
Recipes that use malagueta chiles include, among many others:
Malagueta pepper, tomato, and coconut sauce
Brazilian fish stew
Malagueta chile sauce
Malagueta pepper oil
Mussels and sausage with malagueta pepper
Roasted rack of lamb with malagueta pepper
Piri piri prawns.
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