Pirjanad

"Nothing a little pirjanad can't make better."

- Ezgi Deshra

Pirjanad is a strong, spicy sauce made by members of the Mandalorian culture. Developed thousands of years prior to the rise of the Galactic Empire, the exact origins of pirjanad are lost to history, though it is almost universally believed to have been created somewhere on the Mandalorian homeworld of Mandalore. Over the subsequent millennia, it's popularity among the varied Mandalorian clans has seen the sauce spread to distant stars by the nomadic people, and birthed untold local variations. Classic pirjanad was created using hetikleyc pepper paste, distilled brine, cilrag cloves, salt, and sugar. Multiple traditional Mandalorian dishes made use of pirjanad, including tiingilar, spicy roba pies, and the bilerat stew that sustained many an ancient Neo-Crusader during their destructive campaigns.

In the centuries that followed the Ruusan Reformations—at around the same time the MandalMotors company started its rise to fame—another Keldabe-based company, "Pirjanade," began mass producing several blends of pirjanad, selling bottles of varying size of the spicy sauce to cantinas, shops, and independent buyers. By the time the Clone Wars had broken out across the galaxy, pirjanad from the Keldabe plant was being shipped to worlds across Mandalorian space, including Concord Dawn, Harswee, Gargon, and Jakelia. Even non-Mandalorian retailers, some as far away as the Core Worlds, had taken note of the sauce's potent flavor, and had begun importing pirjanad from distant Mandalore.

Behind the scenes
Pirjanad was created by writer Mia Mesharad for her 2017 online tour piece, " Welcome to Mandalore ." In it, lead character Ezgi Deshra uses a small bottle of pirjanad that she carries in her utility belt to add flavor to an otherwise bland New Mandalorian dish. As with many elements of Mandalorian cuisine found in Star Wars canon, the fictional pirjanad can trace it's origin back to the real world, having been inspired by sriracha sauce, a potently spicy chili sauce developed in eastern Thailand.

Appearances

 *  Welcome to Mandalore