Mareko Fana

Mareko Fana Pepper Seeds

Mareko Fana is a traditional Ethiopian pepper and a good one to grow if you want to make Ethiopian dishes from scratch. The pods start green and eventually ripen to a deep chocolate brown, very similar to the way a Chilaca changes color. Fruits are slender and usually around 3 inches long.

Heat Level

These peppers have a solid medium heat, usually around 15,000 SHU. That puts them at roughly 3 to 5 times the heat of a Jalapeno. Hot enough to notice, but still very usable in cooking.

The plants are good producers and usually mature in about 90 days. If you are growing them specifically for drying or spice blends, let the pods fully ripen before picking.

Culinary Uses

Mareko Fana is closely associated with Ethiopian cuisine. It is used in berbere spice blends. The dried peppers can be ground and mixed with other spices for stews, sauces, lentils, and meat dishes.

You can also use the peppers fresh, but drying really makes sense with this variety. If you enjoy making your own seasonings, this is a fun one to have around because it gives you something quite different from the usual cayenne or paprika-style peppers.

20+ seeds per pack