Know Your Ingredients: Guide To Chilli Varieties In India

From green chillies to red and orange, the spiciest to mildest, here's a guide to varieties of chillies found in India.

Kashmiri Chillies It is known for its deep red colour and is commonly used in regular cooking. However, don't mistake its fierce redness with its taste. It's super mild in taste and hardly has pungency as compared to other chillies in the world.

Bhavnagri Chillies Bharwan Mirchi is relatively bigger and has a stark green colour. Because of their size, they are easier to be stuffed with a filling of your choice. Bhavnagri chillies also come under mild peppers, instead of hot. This special variety of chilli hails from Bhavnagar in Gujarat and has a delicate peppery flavour.

Guntur Chillies Dark in colour and distinct in its fieriness, these chillies lend the Andhra cuisine the desired spiciness. Due its high levels of spiciness, it is not eaten as is and mostly used to make dishes like Chepa Puluso, Bongulo Chicken, Natukodi Pulusu, Gonguro Mansam and Guntur Chicken Fry.

Jwala Chillies They are used in Indian curries, pastes, sauces and chutneys for it's bold, heaty flavours; one is more than enough to make you leap for a bowl of curd afterwards. These chillies along with an abundance of flavour are aromatic too, lending the curries its distinct taste.

Kanthari Chillies A variety of the birds eye chilli, they're grown in Kerala and it's surrounding regions. This stunning chilli grows as a white or an off-white version and as they ripen, the colour changes to deep orange, green or red.

Byadagi Chillies Coming from Karnataka, Byadagi chillies are also known as Bedgi chillies in local supermarkets. Very similar to paprika, they are pungent in nature with enriching vitamins and minerals like manganese, foliate, potassium, thiamin, vitamins A, B, C and E in it. These chillies are mostly used to make chilli or paprika flakes.

Ramnad Mundu Chillies These chillies possess a distinct flavour and taste to it with a maximum amount of seeds inside as compared to other chillies. They are prominently used in South Indian cuisine in dishes like sambar, curries, tadkas and chutneys.

Boria Chillies They are mostly used for tempering purposes in kadhis, sambars and dals. As big as a cherry tomato, Boria chillies are moderately spicy and lends flavour to a dish than colour.

Mathania Chillies Native to the blue city of Rajasthan, Jodhpur, these chillies have a very powerful aroma and flavour. It is widely used in the popular dish, Laal Maas, a popular curry from Rajasthan. These chillies add vibrancy to the curries, letting its flavours infuse in slow-cooked dishes.

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