For a fruit that reached our shores less than 500 years back, the chilli — or chilli pepper, if you like — is the focus of many heated debates, both inside our kitchens and outside. Which of our regional cuisines is the hottest — Andhra, Naga, Rajasthani? Are green chillies healthier than the dried, red ones? Do today’s youngsters eat less
teekha khana than their parents?
There’s no end to the debate, but what’s certain is that Indian food can’t do without chillies.
Goa, where the Portuguese set up base in the 15th century, was where chillies — native to the Americas — were first planted by the colonisers. “Dry red chillies from Canacona in South Goa play an important role in certain masalas. Eating spicy food and sweating cools down your body. A hot climate makes food spoil faster, and spices help prevent that, as they have anti-microbial properties,” says chef Christopher Fernandes from a restaurant in Baga, North Goa.
“Indian food is popular because of the aromas and flavours of our spices — especially our chillies. I can’t overstate the importance of chillies in Indian food,” says Sambit Banik, the chef-owner of two restaurants in Kolkata, where he experiments with chillies from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh,
Mathania in Rajasthan and the white-hot
bhoot jolokia from the Northeast.
SOME CHILLIES TRAVEL WELL, OTHERS DON’TThe flavours and textures of our chillies also have a profound effect on how regional cuisines travel across the country. You could call it ‘chilli politics’!
“Earlier, we used the hot Guntur chilli, which meant our food was more pungent. But now, we use the Kashmiri chilli, which has colour but not much heat,” says Saiju Thomas, executive chef with a Kochi-based hotel group, adding that Malayalis had spiced up their food with pepper — fresh green and dried black — before the Portuguese brought chillies to our shores.
Monalisa Baruah and Saurav Parashar are from Guwahati and have started a Northeast restaurant in the Goan capital of Panaji. They source many of their ingredients — including the
bhoot jolokia — from the Northeast. “Our pork chops made with
bhoot jolokia and jaggery are spicy but tolerable, as we add jaggery to balance the heat. Our Naga pork/chicken curry is very spicy and I always warn patrons trying it the first time. Surprisingly, the dish has won a fan following and many of our regulars order it quite often,” says Saurabh. So there you are. Every chilli of India is one chapter in our vast culinary narrative.
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