Paprika Powder: How to make smoked paprika powder

Paprika powder is made from Capsicum Pepper, this is dried bell pepper ground into fine powder. It is called tatashe here in Nigeria and it is a very common spice in both Spanish and Hungarian cuisines; smoked paprika is typically very mild in flavor and is used mostly for its bright red color, which makes it an attractive garnish to many dishes. Paprika has a unique taste and you can easily detect its flavor when used as a seasoning to sauces, stews, and meats, this unique spice is widely used and has a way of adding a red tint to food.

Paprika is quite different from chili pepper as it is mild in taste and less spicy, unlike chili powder. However, if you want to make very hot paprika, the seeds and ribs should be left in and then grind with the rest of the pepper.

To make paprika powder is very easy since it’s straightforward. The common way to make paprika powder is to sun dry the pepper and then grind it into powder just like this sun-dried tomato powder, however, if you aim to achieve a smoky flavor, simply place the pepper in a non-stick pan on low heat for 5- 10 minutes before you blend after sun drying. You can as well make smoked paprika by drying the peppers in a wire rack or basket under firewood heat, this is possible if you are using firewood for cooking most of the time.

There are varieties of paprika, and each varies in heat and redness. Making this spice might take a little while, this is because it takes a long time to dry you can oven dry this for 4-5 hours and then remove it from the oven and sun-dry it until they are completely dried and crisp, I found out this method dries it faster.

Basically, you need red bell peppers and a grinder and you are good to go. This unique spice is a must-have in your pantry and is easy to Do IT Yourself. Watch the video above and see how to make your own paprika powder at home. You can use smoked paprika in your party jollof rice, peppered goat meat, or add it to chicken curry sauce. Learn how to make red chili sauce here.

Equipment for making Paprika Powder

1. Red bell peppers
2. Sharp knife
3. Baking sheet or flat tray
4. Oven/ dehydrator/ sun
5. Electric coffee grinder/mortar and pestle

How to make paprika powder

1. Rinse peppers and pat them dry, cut the peppers open to remove seeds and the white parts.
2. Spread them out into a baking sheet, make sure the slices are not touching each other.
3. Place the baking sheet in the oven, let the pepper sit in the oven on the lowest heat setting.
4. Leave the oven door slightly open to allow air circulation which makes the pepper dry faster, this might take a while or even a whole day for the pepper to dry. You can also use a dehydrator to dry this if you have one.
5. Once the pepper is fully dried and crisp, take it out of the oven and leave it to cool down.
6. Bring the peppers into a coffee grinder and blend into a fine powder. Take out any piece that refuses to blend. If you don’t have a grinder, you can as well pound the pepper in a mortar.
7. When done pour the paprika powder into an airtight jar and use it for any recipe that calls for paprika.

Steps on how to make paprika powder with pictures

• Rinse peppers and pat them dry, cut the peppers open to remove seeds and the white parts

• Your homemade smoked paprika powder is ready