Uzazi

The term Uzazi refers to the dried fruit of the West African deciduous shrub "Zanthoxylum tessmannii" syn. "Fagara tessmannii", a member of the 'prickly ash' "Zanthoxylum" family. The name of the spice is derived from Nigerian, where the spice is grown and harvested on a commercial basis. "Zanthoxylum tessmannii" is a close relative of Sichuan Pepper and Uzazi has a similar taste profile to the Asian spice. However, unlike Sichuan Pepper where only the pericarp of the fruit is used uzazi is employed whole (both pericarp and seed). This may explain why uzazi has a spicier flavour and greater pungency than sichuan pepper.

Even in West Africa this is a rare spice and typically only five or six dried fruit are employed in a dish.

Use in cuisine

The whole fruit are pounded to a powder in a pestle and mortar and are added to West African 'soups' (stews) as a flavouring. Typically these would be used in soups where few or no chillies are used so that the pungency of the spice comes through.

References

*Celtnet Spice Guide [http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/spice-entry.php?term=Uzazi] (accessed July 20 2007)

External links

* [http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-cassava-soup Recipe for West African 'Cassava Soup' incorporating Uzazi]