Main Menu

Chilli Recipes

View PDF | Print View | Publish Article
by: gwydion
Total views: 351
Word Count: 912

Chillies are the fruit of the Capsicum members of the Solanaceae (deadly nightshade) family of plants. These plants originate in the Amazonian rain forests and native South Americans began cultivating the plants as far back as 5000 years ago. The name chilli (chili if you're American) itself is derived from the Nahuatl (Aztec) language via the Spanish chil�.

Christopher Columbus encountered chillies on his first voyage to the Carribean in 1492 and though he did not bring any back on that voyage (they were taken to Spain on his second voyage) he does wirte of a 'pepper' that the natives called Aj� which was better in taste and nature that ordinary peppers.

From Mexico, chili peppers spread rapidly into the Philippines and then to India, China, Korea and Japan with the aid of European sailors. The new spice was quickly incorporated into the local cuisines. It seems to have entered India via the Portugese colony of Goa before journeying northwards through Central Asia and Turkey, to Hungary, where it became the national spice in the form of paprika.

The Portugese brought chillies to West Africa where a local form (piri-piri) evolved and nautralized. In cultivation there are five main types of chillies: Capsicum annuum, which includes many common varieties such as bell peppers, paprika, jalape�os, and the chiltepin; Capsicum frutescens, which includes the cayenne and tabasco peppers; Capsicum chinense, which includes the hottest peppers such as habaneros and Scotch bonnets; Capsicum pubescens, which includes the South American rocoto peppers and Capsicum baccatum, which includes the South American aj� peppers.
On the Indian sub-continent, the Far East and West Africa the use of chillies in cooking is almost ubiquitous and so well has it been accepted in these regions that many believe it is indigenous to them.

Chilli peppers are highly prized in cooking in that they impart both flavour and 'heat' to a dish. The heat in chillies is caused by a special compound, capsacin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and several related chemicals, collectively called capsaicinoids. These are hydrophobic (water-hating) chemicals and this is why they tend to bury themselves into the surfaces of the palate and the mouth causing irritation (the burning sensation; indeed the chemical is produced by the plants to deter predation by animals). This is why drinking water is useless as a way of eliminating the burning sensation and why drinking milk or yoghurt works.

Though they are used as a vegetable and considered a spice, chillies are in fact a fruit and this explains why they are so versatile in cooking. Indeed, the Aztecs combined them with chocolate and they make a wonderful sorbet mixed with coconut milk and lemongrass. Though it's their use in Indian and Thai curries and chillies where their culinary uses are best known.

A rather unusual chilli-based recipe is:

Chilli Marmalade

Ingredients

500g caster sugar
480ml water
juice of 1 lemon
rind of 1 lime (rind peeled in strips and finely shredded)
juice of 2 limes
250g fresh red chillies (preferrably a mix of serrano, jalape�o and pimento) seeded, ribbed and finely shredded
� red pepper de-seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic pur�ed
2cm piece of ginger, grated
1 stick lemongrass, bruised

Preparation

Place the sugar and water in a non-aluminium saucepan, stir to dissolve the sugar, then add the lemongrass. Bring to the boil; turn off the heat and allow to infuse for at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, add the lemon juice, lime juice, garlic and ginger together. Place the shredded lime peel in a small bowl and add the juice mixture to it. Allow this to soften the peel for at least an hour.

Remove the lemongrass from the sugar mixture and add the peel and liquid along with the chilli and the red pepper. Bring the mixture to the boil slowly, brushing sides of pan regularly to keep syrup from the sides.

Simmer the mixture until it thickens and the chillies become translucent then remove from the heat, allow to cool a little and bottle into sterilized jars whilst still fairly hot. In effect this is a true marmalade and will keep for several months.

And here's a chilli recipe that I truly love

Thai Chilli Sorbet

Ingredients

350g sugar (or 250g palm sugar if available)
100ml water
1 birdseye chilli, finely chopped
2 sticks of lemongrass, bruised
1 cork-sized piece of galangal, grated (add ginger if you can't get galangal)
3 or 4 kaffir lime leaves with their edges torn
zest of 3 limes
juice of 3 limes
juice of 1/2 lemon
handful of grated coconut
1 can coconut milk or carton of coconut cream

Preparation:

Make a syrup by dissolving the sugar in the water over a gentle heat. When all the sugar has dissolved add the flavouring ingredients to the pan (ie everything apart from the lime juice and coconut products). Bring this mixture to the boil then allow to simmer for 10 minutes or so. Take off the heat and allow to col and steep for at least two hours.

After the steeping time remove the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves from the syrup then add the lime and lemon juice along with the coconut products. Pour into a freezer-proof dish and leave to stand for twenty minutes before placing in the freezer. Stir every hour or so with a fork until the sorbet is frozen.

Remove from the freezer about half an hour before serving. This sorbet makes and excellent (and unusual) end to a Thai meal. Because of the chilli the sorbe also goes very well with any chocolate-based dessert. The coconut milk also makes this sorbet almost like ice cream in consistency and can be served to thosee who are lactose intolerant.