By Bernadette Longueira

I live in Africa – South Africa to be exact and I remember as a child going to Mozambique to the capital Maputo. The best of all was that the camp site was just across the road from the Main Beach in Maputo. It was a lovely camp site and well maintained.

My Dad only had four daughters and no sons. But he trained us well we could get the tent up and the caravan sorted in under an hour depending at how fast we wanted to get to the sea. This always fascinated fellow campers especially those who had sons in tow.

I can remember getting up early in the morning and I am talking about 4 o’clock and going with my Dad to the Fish Market in Maputo or to the fishing docks to see what fresh catch we could get. Of course one of the first things we would get would be prawns and you could buy then by the bucket fill. Other fish we enjoyed was Tuna and Cod.

The usual way the prawns were prepared in Maputo was fried and served with Peri Peri Sauce. I always found this sauce rather disappointing it was too hot and very unpleasant it was only as I honed my trade as a chef that I realized that the best way to have something hot and I mean hot but would keep people coming back for more was to add a teaspoon of palm sugar or brown sugar to the sauce. You could add lemon juice but it does not work the same without the sugar. This trick I learned from a Head Chef at the 5 Star Hotel in Mombai. He made curries that could have stripped the paint of a car but you could always eat them without have that unpleasant constant burning in your mouth and you could actually finish your meal.

I have found a lot of the Peri Peri Sauces that are on the Market on just hot and not very pleasant. I have found a recipe for a Peri Peri Sauce which I will be working on to see if I can get it hot and tasty at the same time without trying to kill you, have you stand on your head in the shower or give you an ulcer from to much acid. You see the sugar neutralizes the acid in the Chili’s, but does not remove the burn which is what every one is after. It just makes it more bearable and you are inclined to eat more than you should.

Home Made Peri Peri Sauce