Jiquitaia

The Houaiss Portuguese Dictionary teaches that the word jiquitaia comes from the Tupi language and means “powdered malagueta pepper”. In the Amazon, however, the ingredient produced by Baniwa Indians is made with a combination of native peppers that are left to dry in the sun, and then smoked and ground in a mortar. Very hot and aromatic, jiquitaia does not follow a specific “recipe”: each woman has her own way of harmonizing the Capsicum peppers available in the forest.