Chilies

[mark111757 Profile]

Did anyone in this wonderful group see the Indian recipes in the Sat times magazine. They sounded pretty good but there a couple that had chillies in them and I was confused.

Lasooni daal called for 4 red chilies. Nothing about chopping or deveining and deseeding them. Just bung them in. From what I could see it is the same with chicken butter masala. This time 4 green chilies. Throw them in the pot and go. I may sound like a wuss about it but I pull them out before serving. No one I know needs a surprise like that. Imagine getting all four in one serving. No thank you. What do you guys think. I read the recipes several times and perhaps I missed something. Thank you.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

I didn't see the recipes, no, sadly.
But I adore an Indian with whole fresh chillies in it. And will eat them, but that's how I like a curry (sniff, wipes forehead). And luckily so does my husband.

If you want the effect but not the chilli, you would perhaps stab the chillies with a knife then cook, but fish them out when it comes to serving.

I've got the Sunday Times paper, but not the Saturday one sadly. So I cannot comment directly on any dishes.

[cherrytree Profile]

And there’s a paywall

[ZeroCook Profile]

Which Times and which magazine do you mean, Mark?

Agree with Gill - usually in Indian cooking when chillies are cooked whole in a dish they're for the heat and flavour not to be eaten as part of the dish tho I'm sure there are people who do

[mark111757 Profile]

The saturday London times

All I have known it as is the times magazine, one of the Saturday supplements. Apologizes for the confusion

[Amyw Profile]

I’m not an expert but I would’ve thought that adding whole chillies to a dish is similar to adding whole cloves of garlic rather than minced . You get the flavour but much less intense than when it’s finely chopped and dispersed more throughout the dish

[WWordsworth Profile]

Yes, I always reckon a whole chilli is a seasoning rather than something to be eaten.

I am Omni but I prefer veggie curries.
When engrossed in conversation I have occasionally mistaken a whole chilli for a green bean.
Much to the amusement of others.
Pah.

[ZeroCook Profile]

Mark, as mentioned it has a paywall. You must have a subscription.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I’m not an expert but I would’ve thought that adding whole chillies to a dish is similar to adding whole cloves of garlic rather than minced . You get the flavour but much less intense than when it’s finely chopped and dispersed more throughout the dish

Spot on in my view - done a lot in Caribbean cooking, as I was taught it, a Scotch Bonnet chilli may be put in and removed very much like a bay leaf in European cooking, in fact they can be put in on a toothpick along with some garlic so they can easily be removed

[jeral Profile]

mark111757, if the Times recipe was like the first link below, then as it seems similar, it looks like the chillies are intended to be eaten. This one uses 4 dried red chillis, which if anything tend to be hotter!
https://www.steamingpot.com/lasooni-dal/

This link below uses 1-2 fresh green and 1-2 dried red chillis, saying that the kick comes from the ginger and green chilli. No mention of the red's heat oddly.
http://www.monsoonspice.com/2017/03/las ... -easy.html

Both are written by Indians though, who probably wouldn't even notice the blistering heat, thinking it mild, or "comforting" as one says. It'd be far too hot for me with more than a quarter of one chilli, fished out later too. It looks good though.

[ZeroCook Profile]

Jeral, your links (nice dals btw - fancy making some right now) are for chilies broken up into pieces in tadkas. Not at all like whole chilies when they're cooked in a dish - tadkas fry and crisp the spices, tempering them and making them crunchy and delicious - no problem eating a whole chili that way for me! ÷) Bit like Sichuan chili oil

[herbidacious Profile]

Will never forget the time I accidnetally bit into a whole (raw?) super hot chill in a Mexican restaurant (in New York ). I thought I was going to die/my head was going to explode.

[ZeroCook Profile]

Been there done that Herbid. Most recently a friend from New Mexico sent a chili package - all dry chili, variously whole and crushed and ground as well as some fresh habaneros which I decided to pickle as they last indefinitely that way since I rarely ever use them - way way too hot - cut each in two, placed in jar with brine, gave a stir before closing jar and licked the spoon ....


... head almost came away from body ... had to eat some yoghurt then drink some hot coffee <sizzle>

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I refer you to my avatar - some habanero chilliest, picture taken in a market in La Habana, Cuba

Everywhere in the markets, nowhere on the plate - even when I went to eat with our driver (a serious foodie), just little bottles of sauce similar to Louisiana hot sauce, which nobody seemed to use

[jeral Profile]

Jeral, ...[cliip]... tadkas fry and crisp the spices, tempering them and making them crunchy and delicious - no problem eating a whole chili that way for me! ÷)....

It says somewhere that tadka means tempering, so I'll have to try one as a test as I have a dried whole chilli I can easily spare. I like a hint of chilli in a brunch omelette, so should be good if it works for me

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

He he he @ hot chilli stories.
I had that with a fairly innocuous jalapeno. I was sweating buckets.

The other advantage of adding whole chillies, you get the flavour of the whole, ie the seeds and membrane.
I have a piri piri prawn dish, that relies on a sauce made from marinated seeds and membrane overnight. It has a lovely taste.
Since they are usually discarded, it makes a change.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

You´ll get different flavours form whole fresh chiles, whole dried chiles, green chiles, red chiles, chile powder, chiles stir-fried in tarkas (as ZC said). The whole ones are not usually meant to be eaten, but I always do since I´m a maniac chilehead.
Add to the equation that there are hundreds of varieties of chile these days, all with different flavour/heat spectra; the perfect ingredient for a creative dish. Yesterday I made a pasta sauce with "sweet" chiles (an essential ingredient over here), bacon, tomato, garlic, pesto and cream. yummy!
Broccoli with finely diced finger chiles, butter and lemon is one of my favourite little side dishes. Super citric.
Then there´s a potato, coconut and tomato "dum" from Madhur Jaffrey which calls for two whole red chiles. They add a wonderful warmth without the dish ever being hot.

[jeral Profile]

Something I wonder about, so feel free to ignore...

We know that a plant/fruit protects itself from being eaten by animals, but what about worms and "good" bacteria in the soil where fruit falls in natural surroundings? If it kills those, the soil would be dead too wouldn't it? Or did worms and bateria become used to it, Darwin style?

karadekoolaid et al, does coconut or the milk soothe or mitigate chilli heat as cow's milk and yoghurt do? Ta.

[Badger's Mate Profile]

Many plants have got defensive chemicals in leaves and flowers but fruit is there to be eaten as a means of dispersing seed. I believe birds aren't affected by capsaicin, the stuff in chillies. There used to be something called 'poultry spice' (a feed supplement rather than a seasoning ) based on chilli powder. It has also been used as a mammal deterrent in bird food.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Bacteria and moulds by and large are not affected by the toxins and repellents that affect larger creatures, their chemistry is so different