Mix and Match, Shitor: Fried Pepper Sauce

Dark brown to black in colour, this fried pepper preserve is used all over Ghana and West Africa. It could also be known as "The student's companion." For at least fifty years it has accompanied students to boarding schools for all of seven years and then some. I believe it is a Ga concoction, and oneof their most important contributions to Ghanaian culinary culture.

I'm looking for a good way to spell its most common name, while trying to get away from the first few letters: Shitor is at present my best spelling.
Usually shitor is made from dried powdered ingredients, except for onions which are sliced and fried first and tomato puree which some people add before the mix of dried ground or powdered chilli peppers, powdered dried shrimps, powdered dried anchovies (or other small sized fish popularly known in Ghana as Keta schoolboys). Don't forget salt... and some people add other flavourings such as Magi cube or Oxo.

When I was young, it amazed me how the oil frothed up high in the pan once the dry ingredients were put in. My mother's shitor was short on pepper and much more on shrimp and fish powder. Some people go so far as to fry beef cubes for their shitor-boy is it ever good! My experience was that we went fishing for the beef which we quickly depleted. And am not sure such fancy shitor lasts quite as long as common shitor.

Shitor is made to last months or about as long as the school term endures. Shitor is eaten in small amounts. Amounts between a teaspoon and a tablespoon is about as much as is needed as a dip for kenkey, banku or gari. Of course this depends on just how hot it is. Shitor can also be used to spice up a sauce or stew after it is cooked and is often stored in a jar in a fridge. Use a clean dry spoon to serve it .

Occassionally I spice up my sauces with shitor while am cooking.
The perfect shitor mix is really according to taste and I would suggest less chilli and more shrimp powder for those searching for flavours other than hot. Hot can sometimes obscure all other flavours so beware.

I don't make shitor at home because it has a strong cooking smell. But it's easy to find it at African grocery stores. I usually go for jars marked medium, as compared to hot or mild, but the heat varies from maker to maker.
Here's another recipe which I shall measure out in cups and spoonfuls when I am ready!