An Indian Bureaucrat's Diary

Travel India Mirchi (Chilli)

      
the World’s Most Used Spice

If you visit tourist places in Goa and Kerala, you can visit spice gardens.
Some plantation owners have improvised their spice gardens into tourist attractions.
You can see a variety of plants which give us different spices.
The guide will answer your questions and clarify your doubts.
Your host will serve you authentic local meals in virgin surroundings and arrange a traditional dance.

Back ground

We Indians use a lot of spices in our daily food.

But most of us do not know where the spices come from.

Someone suggested that I should write about the spices in my blog.
And so I started a series.
This one on Mirchi (Chilli) is another in the series on Spices of India.
Growing Mirchi is quite easy.
You can grow them in your kitchen garden and even in flower pots.

What is Mirchi (Chilli) Background

Mirchi is the fruit of the plants from the genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae.

There are more than 400 different varieties of Mirchis all over the world.
They differ in pungency, size, shape and colour.                        
Even though Mirchi may be thought of as a vegetable, they are generally used as a spice.
The part of the plant that is normally used is the fruit.
Sometimes, the leaves are also used.  

The Name The word Mirchi is used almost throughout India.
The word Chilli is used in several countries of the world.
But the word Chilli is spelled differently in different regions – chili, chile, chilli and even chilly.
The word has originated from the Spanish word Chile.The term Chilli is used for the smaller, hot types of capsicum.
The mild, larger types, are called bell pepper in the United States, Canada (and sometimes the United Kingdom); sweet pepper in Britain and Ireland; capsicum in India and Australasia; and paprika in many European countries.
Origin

The Mirchi plant originated in Mexico where it was used as early as in 7000 B.C.
The plant was domesticated more than 6000 years ago and is one of the first cultivated crops in the Americas.
Mexicans had started cultivating Mirchi around 3500 B.C. They used it to spice their food.Diego Álvarez Chanca, a physician on Columbus’ second voyage to the West Indies, brought the first Mirchi plants to Spain in 1493 and wrote about their medicinal effects in 1494.
Actually, Christopher Columbus had set out from Spain to reach India to bring spices such as black pepper back to his country.
But instead of reaching India, he reached America in 1493, and discovered the new country. Christopher not only mistook America for India, he also mistook Mirchi for black pepper. That is how Mirchi got the name ‘Chile pepper’, shortened to Chille with its various spellings.
From Spain, Mirchi spread over to other European countries.
In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco-da-Gama brought Mirchi to India.
 
Apparently, Mirchi liked the Indian climate.
Today, India is the major supplier of Mirchi in the international market.
Mirchi accounts for 45% of the export of all spices from India in terms of quantity; and 24% in terms of value.
More than 50% of India’s Mirchi crop is grown in Andhra Pradesh.

The Mexican Chilli powders are mixtures of several spices, such as dried ground Mirchi, cumin, garlic and oregano. This mixture is extensively used in Mexican cuisine.

Culinary uses

The Mirchi fruit is eaten either raw, or cooked – for its fiery hot flavour.
The pungency in the Mirchi powder varies according to the variety of Mirchi used.
The white flesh that surrounds the seeds, contains the highest concentrations of capsaicin.
Removing the seeds and the inner membranes reduces the heat.Mirchi is used as a spice in dried and powdered form.
Indians and other South Asians make the Mirchi powder by drying and grinding the red Mirchi to get the strong, pungent, red powder.
Indians add a small amount of oil.
The oil helps the Mirchi powder retain its red color for a longer time. And it also acts as a preservative.In the United States, cayenne is added to the Mexican ‘chile ancho’ variety for heat.
Mirchi is used around the world to make a wide variety of hot and chilli sauces.Thai and South Asian countries use a lot of Mirchi.

Chilli leaves

Filipinos cook the mildly bitter leaves of the Mirchi plant as greens.
They also use the leaves in chicken soup dishes known as tinola.
Koreans use the leaves to make kimchi.

Medical Properties of Mirchi

Mirchi found its way in ayurveda, the traditional Indian medical system.
Mirchi is supposed to relieve pain, stimulate the appetite and the digestive system.
They help in slimming, are good for the heart, brain and lungs.

Nutritional value

Red Mirchi contains a lot of vitamin C and provitamin A.
Mirchis are a good source of several B vitamins, particularly vitamin B6.
They are very high in potassium, magnesium, iron, and also contain minerals like molybdenum, manganese, folate, potassium, thiamin and copper.
Their high vitamin C content substantially increases the uptake of non-heme iron from other ingredients in a meal, such as beans and grains. 

Ward off Evil Spirits

Believe it or not, in India, the Mirchi, along with lime, are used to ward off evil spirits.
They are often stringed and hung in front of new cars and new houses.
Mirchi is also used to check the evil eye and remove its effects.

Decoration 

There are some varieties of Mirchi which are not meant for consumption, but grown only for their decorative qualities. Some of these are too hot for most common cooking techniques, or don’t taste good.The ones used for decorative purposes have unusual shapes or colors and are known as  “ornamental peppers”. Examples of these include the Thai Ornamental, Black Pearl, Marble, Numex Twilight, and the Medusa pepper.

The Hottest Mirchi in the world 

The world’s hottest Mirchi is “Naga Jolokia” – cultivated in hilly terrain of Assam in Tezpur, India.

The Guinness Book of World Records awarded the title of world’s hottest chili pepper to the bhut jolokia, a “thumb-sized” chili grown in India that tops the Scoville scale at 1,041,427 units.
That is about 200 times hotter than a jalapeno.