Best Peri Peri Fries Recipe: Homemade Peri Peri Salt and Sauce

Saidi's chips stand outside a busy bar in Mwenge sold plain chips for years, with tomato sauce and pilipili in bottles on the side. One evening he tossed a batch in a red powder he had mixed at home, chilli, paprika, garlic and a little lemon zest, and wrote "Peri Peri Chips" on a piece of cardboard. He sold out before ten. Now peri peri is a third of his orders, at a higher price than plain chips.

The best peri peri fries are crispy fries tossed in a homemade peri peri salt (dried chilli, smoked paprika, garlic, onion, oregano, lemon and salt) straight after frying, with a peri peri sauce on the side for people who want more heat. The seasoning takes five minutes to mix and keeps for weeks in a jar. Here is the recipe, the sauce, and how to get the heat right.

What is peri peri?

Peri peri, or piri piri, is a small, very hot chilli and the sauce made from it. The name comes from Swahili and other Bantu languages, where pilipili means pepper, and the sauce became famous through Portuguese and Mozambican cooking. In East Africa you will know the chilli as pilipili kichaa, a type of bird's eye chilli. So peri peri fries are, in a way, coming home.

How do you make peri peri salt?

This makes enough for about 15 to 20 portions. Mix everything in a dry bowl and store in an airtight jar.

• 2 tablespoons fine salt
• 2 tablespoons smoked or sweet paprika
• 1 to 3 teaspoons dried chilli flakes or ground pilipili kichaa (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon or 2 limes (or 1 teaspoon citric acid for a jar that lasts longer)

For a smoother coating, blend everything for a few seconds so the flakes become powder; it sticks better to the chips. If you use fresh zest, dry it on a plate for a day first, or keep the jar in the fridge and use it within two weeks.

How do you make peri peri fries?

1. Heat the oil to about 175°C. Frozen fries go straight from the freezer to the oil without thawing.
2. Fry in small batches, no more than half a basket, for about 3 minutes until golden and crisp. Shake once halfway.
3. Drain for 10 to 20 seconds, just long enough to stop dripping, but not long enough to dry the surface.
4. Toss in a big bowl with 1 to 2 teaspoons of peri peri salt per portion. Tossing coats every chip; sprinkling on a plate does not.
5. Finish with a squeeze of lime and chopped coriander if you like, and serve straight away with peri peri sauce on the side.

In an air fryer, cook frozen fries at 200°C for 12 to 15 minutes, then spray or toss with a teaspoon of oil before seasoning so it sticks. In the oven, bake at 220°C for 18 to 22 minutes. Our guide on how to cook frozen fries has all three methods.

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How do you make a quick peri peri sauce?

This makes one small jar. Blend until smooth:

• 4 to 10 fresh red chillies (fewer for mild, more for hot), stems removed
• 1 red pepper (pilipili hoho), roasted or raw
• 4 cloves garlic
• Juice of 2 lemons or 3 limes
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar

Simmer the blended sauce gently for 5 minutes to soften the raw garlic, cool it, and keep it in a clean jar in the fridge for up to a week. For a creamy version, mix one part sauce with two parts mayonnaise. Customers love it as a dip. More ideas are in our dipping sauces for fries list.

How do you control the heat?

Chilli strength changes from batch to batch, so taste as you go. A simple way to serve everyone:

For a restaurant, make the seasoning mild to medium and let customers add heat with sauce. It is much easier to add heat than to take it away, and children and visitors may order too. Wear gloves when handling a lot of fresh chilli, and keep hands away from your eyes.

Should restaurants add peri peri fries to the menu?

Yes, and it is one of the cheapest upgrades you can make. The seasoning costs very little per portion, needs no new equipment, and lets you charge more than plain chips. Mix the peri peri salt in a big batch each week so every portion tastes the same, and keep it in a labelled shaker next to the fryer. It also works as an upgrade in combos; see our burger and chips combo ideas. For more ways to stand out, try our fries seasoning ideas and loaded fries recipes.

Go easy on salt. The peri peri salt already has plenty, so do not add more on top. The World Health Organization recommends that adults eat less than 5 g of salt a day, and its salt reduction advice is worth keeping in mind. If you want a lower-salt mix, cut the salt in the recipe by half and add more paprika and garlic.

What mistakes ruin peri peri fries?

• Seasoning cold fries. The powder falls off. Season within the first minute after draining.
• Too much seasoning. Peri peri salt is strong. Start with 1 teaspoon per portion and taste.
• Soggy fries. Seasoning cannot save soft chips. Fry in half baskets at about 175°C; see why frozen fries go soggy.
• Burnt paprika. Do not add the seasoning to the oil or the pan while frying. It burns and turns bitter.
• Old seasoning. Ground spices lose flavour in a few months. Mix smaller batches more often.

What goes well with peri peri fries?

• Grilled chicken, the classic peri peri pairing. Brush the chicken with the same sauce.
• Mishkaki skewers, for a spicy chips mishkaki plate. See how to make chips mishkaki.
• Chipsi mayai made with peri peri fries, for a spicy twist on the street classic.
• A cold drink and kachumbari to cool things down.

Saidi still sells plain chips, but the cardboard sign has been replaced with a printed one. "People come for the peri peri," he says, "and they bring their friends to try it."

In short

For the best peri peri fries, fry frozen fries at about 175°C for about 3 minutes in small batches, drain briefly, and toss them in a big bowl with 1 to 2 teaspoons of homemade peri peri salt per portion. The salt is a mix of salt, paprika, chilli, garlic and onion powder, oregano, a little sugar and lemon or lime zest. Serve with a quick blended peri peri sauce or peri peri mayo, keep the seasoning mild to medium for restaurants and let people add heat, and do not add extra salt on top.

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