FOOD SPECIAL..As Hot As It Gets: The green chilli

As Hot As It Gets The green chilli

The green chilli — it comes in all sizes and shapes and finds a place, as hero or sidekick, in almost all Indian cuisines

    Indians in general are a heat-seeking lot: we relish spice and don’t shy away from lacing our food with it. And if there’s one flavour from our spice arsenal that slices across regional boundaries, it is undoubtedly the humble hari mirchi.
Our initiation to the peppery heat of the green chilli happens early on in our lives. From then on, whether it is to add punch to a tadka or a mild sting to coconut chutney, we turn to the green chilli in all its punchy, crunchy glory. When you consider how closely the green chilli is connected with Indian cooking, it seems improbable that it was once a foreign flavour. Whereas wild forms of chillies were found in Mexico way back in 5000 BC, there is no mention of it in Indian literature until the 16th century. Food historian KT Acharya notes in his book A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food that for long black pepper was the predominant spice used to add pungency to Indian dishes. Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama are thought to have brought the chilli plant to Indian shores from the Americas. The tropical Indian climate proved suitable to its cultivation and its fruits began to be used widely in cooking. Most of the green chillies that are cultivated in India belong to the Capsicum annuum species. This includes non-spicy varieties such as bell peppers as well as hotter varieties. Our markets are swamped with green chillies in different shapes and sizes — small, forest green chillies that look like miniature bell peppers (commonly known as Bhavnagari mirchi), thin, long, dark green chillies (also called Kolhapuri lavangi mirchi in Maharashtra, where the mature fruit is powdered to make searingly hot Kolhapuri masala), and large fleshy chillies that are stuffed and batter-fried.
Green vs Red Despite such a large variety of green chillies, they haven’t grabbed our imagination and the world’s attention in the same way as red chilli varieties such as the mild and flavourful Kashmiri chilli, used to render dishes a deep red hue, and the spicy Guntur Sannam type that is grown in Andhra Pradesh and exported in vast quantities. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that while green chillies are usually used fresh, red chillies are available in dried, powdered and flaked forms. The drying process adds depth to the flavour of the chillies and makes them particularly suitable to use as a base for complex curries and other Indian preparations.
    The contribution of green chillies is best highlighted in the dishes that are defined by them. Most regional cuisines have at least one dish in which green chillies play a pivotal role. Take, for instance, the Maharashtrian accompaniment, hirvya mirchicha thecha. The simplicity of the dish is its defining characteristic — green chillies are dry roasted and pounded with peanuts, garlic and salt to make a coarse chutney that enlivens even the dreariest of meals with its earthy heat.
In contrast, the large green chillies (Bhavnagari chillies) that are used in a Hyderabadi mirchi ka salan are mild and act as a vessel for the flavourful gravy made of dry coconut, poppy seeds (khus-khus), sesame seeds and peanuts. The kick of green chillies is dulled and replaced with salty crunchiness when they are coated with a spiced curd mixture and sun-dried to make thayir molagai, a popular Tamil accompaniment. Thayir molagai is fried in oil and eaten as a sharp contrast to curd rice.
Adding Spice
It may seem like the seeds of the green chilli account for its pungency but, in fact, it is the white, spongy tissue called the placenta that has the highest concentration of the chemical called capsaicin, which is responsible for the chilli’s spiciness. Hence, the most effective way to reduce a chilli’s potency is to slice away the placenta and the seeds within it. However, unless you cannot absolutely tolerate heat, braving a green chilli every now and then is good for you. Green chillies are rich in vitamins A and C, and are a good source of iron and potassium. In fact, a green chilli contains six times as much vitamin C as an orange.
The chemical capsaicin affects the body’s temperature regulation, making you feel hotter than you actually are and consequently causing you to break into a sweat. This increases the body’s metabolic rate, so you burn more energy and store less fat. It also stimulates your adrenaline gland, which is why biting into a raw green chilli is likened to chasing a thrill. With so many uses for this ubiquitous fruit, it is a little surprising that it is only commonly available in its fresh form. The main challenge for manufacturers is to retain the vibrant green colour of the chilli after it is dried. When dried, green chillies have been found to have a higher concentration of vitamin A and other nutrients than in their fresh form. This is what inspired the Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology in Ludhiana to develop the technology to prepare green chilli powder and puree in 2011. Green chilli powder under the brand name Farm Green has been introduced in Ludhiana. With this innovation, versatile green chillies may finally find a broader range of uses, even beyond India’s borders.

:: Vidya BalachanderETM121125