Piri-Piri: The Mozambican Fire Sauce

Piri-piri sauce — the fiery condiment now globally associated with Nando's chain restaurants — was born in Portuguese Mozambique from the collision of New World chillies (carried by Portuguese traders from the Americas) and African cooking. The African bird's eye chilli (piri-piri, from the Swahili for "pepper-pepper") was either brought to Mozambique by the Portuguese or was already present — the origin is debated. What is not debated is that Portuguese settlers combined the chilli with garlic, citrus, oil, and vinegar to create a sauce that became central to both Mozambican and Portuguese cuisine.

• Sambal in Indonesian/Malaysian cooking (chilli condiment that accompanies the meal rather than defining it), harissa in Tunisian cooking (chilli paste as foundational condiment), shatta in Egyptian/Le