My earliest memory of chili heat was when I inadvertently dipped a slice of bread into what I thought was some kind of tomato relish: I gasped for air for nearly an hour, drinking vast amounts of liquids (stupidly, see below why) while contorting like a demented fool. I had made my acquaintance with Harissa, a fiery chili paste made in North Africa, aged ten.
It took several years to reacquaint myself with chili via my then girlfriend who introduced me to her surefire hangover cure: fried onions with eggs laced with a liberal dose of fresh chilies. It worked wonders. Still does.
The story of chilies starts several millennia ago in South America, but the details are shrouded in the "mists of antiquity" and obscure writing. The oldest archaeological evidence originates from the Andes (linky at the bottom od diary), and it might well be that the enigmatic inhabitants of Tiahuanaco already chewed chilies whilst sitting in the shade of the Gate of the Sun. In the course of the time, a large number of different chili cultivars were bred in Central and South America, but is seems that none of these ever left the American continent before the arrival of Columbus.
First I'd like to point out the various medicinal uses of the chili as I understand them (don't take my word for it but there's some truth in all of the following) Though some chilies are incredibly hot, most are valued for their soothing effects on the digestive system, relief from symptoms of colds (I can vouch for that), sore throats and fevers, circulation, especially for cold hands and feet, and as a hangover remedy (ditto). They can also act as a heart stimulant which regulates blood flow and strengthens the arteries. Nutritionally, fresh chili peppers are an excellent source of calcium and vitamin C. As a general rule of thumb, the larger the chili, the milder it is. Smaller chilies tend to be much hotter because they contain proportionally more seeds and veins than the larger varieties. Another observation is the fact that lung cancer, per capita, is much lower in South East Asia and India due to chilies and turmeric: it's in almost every dish.
There is a plethora of chili varieties, I'll list the ones that I like and use most. If you want to know more I suggest you bookmark this excellent database here.
Poblano and Mulato Isleno are mildly hot varieties which develop a deep, sweet flavour and can be used in chiles rellenos (stuffed chilies or stuffed peppers Greek style). Poblanos can be dried and used in the Mexican mole poblano sauce (yummy!) Elongated New Mexican chilies such as Ortega, as well as the Hungarian Hot Wax, also hold back on the fire and are ideal for use in stews and salsas, much as you'd use a sweet pepper.
Pasillas are long and very dark brown. They're usually sold dried and are ground to add to sauces.
Jalapeños are quite fiery varieties, popular in the US and Mexico. They're commonly used either fresh or pickled in salsa or as a pizza topping. Towards the end of the growing season, when they turn deep red, they're often dried and smoked to make chipotles, which impart a distinctive flavour to salsas and marinades.
Cayenne peppers can grow to 30cm/12in long. They're used mainly in hot sauces and their seeds are dried and ground to make cayenne pepper, a pinch of which can be added to or sprinkled over a variety of dishes, particularly cheesy ones. Tabasco chilies are slightly hotter, and are used almost entirely in making Tabasco sauce, the distinctive flavour of which comes from a fermentation process in which the chilies are combined with vinegar and salt (btw, did you know the Tabasco company was started by an Irishman?) My hot favorite, Bird's eyes chilies are proof of the smaller equals hotter rule. These tiny but powerful green and red fruits are especially common in Thai and South-east Asian cooking and are just fabulous in hot and cold salads.
Habanero and Scotch Bonnet chilies are not for the faint-hearted, hitting the very top of the heat scale. These lantern-shaped chilies are related but distinct types. Habaneros have a slightly fruity flavour and are usually orange, while the Caribbean Scotch Bonnets vary in color. A friend of mine, an Australian photographer living in L.A., once invited a slew of clients to a beach barbecue. I was there and didn't notice all the grilled meats and vegetables on the large grill. A girl approached the buffet table and helped herself to a few bits and pieces. She bit into what she thought was a bell pepper and nearly passed out in pain. I realized what my friend had done and took the charred Habaneros off the grill pronto. The poor girl took several hours to compose herself.
Which brings me to this: if you find yourself with a mouthful of hellish fire, the most effective antidotes are dairy products (particularly when combined with cooling cucumber, as in the Indian raita), because capsaicin is fat-soluble. Eating starchy foods such as bread or rice can also help. A drink of cold water won't help (as I found out in my youth) it will actually increase the heat and the discomfort. I bet most of you knew that!
Another word on chilies: some people may think that chilies really spoil a dish for them, but the other side of the argument is not the chili use but untrained taste buds, IMHO. After some experience with fiery but tasteful food, most people develop the ability to discern subtle flavors behind the chilies’ heat, and personally I feel that chilies enhance and amplify the taste of other food ingredients if used in moderation.
If you happen to live in a cold climate this chili & bell pepper soup flavored with Tamarind is divine, and it's really simple to make. All you need is a handful of your favorite chilies for the desired heat, 8 garlic cloves, 4 large red bell peppers, 2 onions, 1 leek, 1/2 pound of new potatoes, 2 tbsp of Tamarind paste and 2 pints of vegetable stock.
Chop up the leek, bell peppers, onions and chilies roughly, put into a cooking pot, add the potatoes and garlic, the tamarind paste (which adds a sweetish element to the soup) and the stock. Salt & pepper to taste and bring to the boil, then cook for another half hour over a medium flame. Use a blender to puree the soup and serve with a dollop of sour cream...and plenty crusty bread.
In tropical climate, chiles are available ripe all year round. In the cuisines of tropical South East Asia they are much preferred fresh. In Thailand, curry pastes (prik kaeng or prik gaeng) are ground mixtures of chiles mixed with other fresh spices (lemon grass, galanga, fingerroot, kaffir lime leaves.) Despite its often searing heat, Thai food is also aromatic due to fresh spices and a host of fragrant herbs. So here's my version of Thai chicken salad.
For 6 persons you need 6 chicken breasts (if you can find corn-fed chickens, all the better), 1 bunch of baby spinach leaves, 1 bunch of fresh mint, half a bunch of cilantro, 2 yellow bell peppers (for color), a handful of toasted almonds, 8 to 10 Thai chilies, 1 red onion and a knob of freshly minced ginger.
For the dressing and brushing the chicken: 2 tbsp of rice vinegar, 5 tbsp of toasted sesame oil, 1 tbsp of nam plah (fish sauce), 2 tbsp of soy or Tamari, the juice of 1 lime, salt & pepper to taste.
First brush all the chicken breasts with a mixture of soy and sesame oil (1 tbsp each) and place them onto a baking dish and into a preheated oven (180) Cook through. Wash all the greens and chop into the size you like. De-seed the bell peppers and cut into fine strips. Same with the chilies. Make the dressing in a bowl, rice vinegar first, then the fish sauce, Tamari, whisk in the sesame oil and add the lime juice. When the chicken is done, slice into thin strips and toss it with the greens, the bell peppers and the chilies, slowly pouring the dressing all over it. Add the almonds (you can also grate some fresh coconuts if you like).
One of the most underrated fruits is the papaya. It's loaded with nutrients and vitamins. Combine it with fresh chilies and you have a powerhouse snack or an accompaniment for a main dish.
To make enough for a large bowl you would need a whole papaya, 4 green onions, 8 (or more) jalapeños, 1 large red bell pepper, 6 garlic cloves, half a bunch of cilantro, the juice of 4 limes, salt & pepper to taste. De-seed the papaya, the bell pepper and the chilies and cut into small chunks roughly the same size. Add the chopped cilantro and the lime juice, salt & pepper and you're done. You can do this with mango as well, or green tomatoes.
Have you ever tried to make a cake combining chocolate and chilies? The trick is not to overpower it with too much chili so use a small amount of freshly minced Thai or medium hot jalapeños. I've tried cayenne pepper and ordinary chili flakes, and it doesn't quite make the grade. Another important ingredient is of course the chocolate/cocoa. Try to get a 70% + unsweetened chocolate, preferably from Fair Trade.
For a nice loaf you'll need 8 oz of cocoa, 4 oz of unsalted butter, 8 oz of self raising flour, 6 oz of fine sugar and 3 whole eggs. And the chilies of course. I would stick a handful of minced chilies into this mixture. First preheat oven to 350°C or 180f. In a bowl place the sugar and cocoa (or melted chocolate, depending on what you have bought), whisk in the melted butter, the eggs and lastly add the flour slowly while you keep whisking. This exercise can also be made with a blender but I'd prefer the manual version, it's much more fun.
Turn the cake mixture into a buttered loaf tin (approximately 8 inches long) and bake for 35 minutes. Turn out onto cake rack as soon as it is cooled. Blueberries make a good companion to this.
According to Gernot Katzer who has written extensively about our hot friends:
"There is considerable zeal in the discussion whether the spice should be called chile, chili or chilli in English. The form chilli is probably closest to the Náhuatl original, and it is the preferred form among historically minded USians and in Australia. The word chili has come to mean almost exclusively the Tex-Mex-food chili con carne in the USA, but is used for the spice in British English. The variant chilly (also the adverb of chill) has become obsolete; it bears connotations to the British Colonial Era and sometimes appears in brand names of products that go back to the first half of the 20th century. Lastly, chile is the name of the spice in contemporary Mexican Spanish, and it is also quite popular in the USA, where it is, however, usually pronounced monosyllabically, as if it were an English word. To make things worse, chilies are often referred to as peppers in English, which is of course a never-ending source of culinarily fatal misunderstandings."
The Chile Pepper Institute has the latest research based information for growers, processors and anyone wanting to learn about chili peppers.
And as a bonus, here is the world's largest selection of chili plants online! Happy days.
And this is a must for chili freaks, chili chocolate!
A very old chili fact: inhabitants of the New World had chili peppers and the makings of taco chips6,100 years ago, according to new research that examined the bowl-scrapings of people sprinkled throughout Central America and the Amazon basin. This find is as important as the one from China who has recorded evidence of a recipe involving chicken and ginger from around the same time!