African Birds Eye Chilli

The pepper behind piri piri, and the one most people have eaten without knowing its name. Also called peri peri, pili pili and the African Devil, it has grown across East and southern Africa for centuries and is still farmed commercially from Malawi to Mozambique.

The pods are small, 2 to 5cm, slim and thin-walled, and they point upwards off the plant rather than dangling. That is the easiest way to tell a true bird's eye from its lookalikes, and it is what makes the plant so good to look at in August, covered in dozens of upright scarlet fruits. The heat is serious without being punishing, well below the superhots, and the flavour is clean and bright, which is why it makes sauce rather than just a dare.

It belongs to Capsicum frutescens, the same species as Tabasco, and that makes it a far easier plant than the Caribbean superhots. It germinates readily, bushes out to anywhere between 45cm and over a metre, and crops heavily in a large pot on a sunny patio. The thin walls mean it dries in days on a windowsill and keeps its colour. Wash your hands after cutting the fruit and keep it away from your eyes.