What’s in a name? …….. Everything!
Is it pepper, chilli or chile? Then what is a chili?
Chile refers to the plant or the fruit of the chile plant. Serrano, jalapeno, poblano are all chiles but called peppers in the US. In India the fresh green chiles are called chillies, the singular being chilli. That chilli in the US refers to the commercial spice powder, which apart from other spices contains dry chile powder. Throw into this chaos chili, which is the meaty, beany, spicy stew that is the state dish of Texas.
Among other things, this was a source of confusion when I came to the US for the first time more than ten years back. “Where is the dustbin?” drew blank faces as did, “do you have a rubber?” or, “what kind of chilli have you used?” Not to be left behind I also unleashed some havoc when I ordered pepperoni pizza, thinking pepperoni to be some cool, exciting variation of a pepper.
So I was in search of a standard terminology for the green and red fingers of fire. Guess what I found! Produce books call “them” chili or chile, American recipe books call “them” peppers, European and Australian recipe books call “them” chillies. Confusion galore! So what did I do? I decided to stick to terminology provided by two sources – Mark Miller’s “The Great Chile Book” and the Chile Pepper Institute (whoever knew such a thing existed! Nevertheless the presence of such a body was rather exciting). Located on the campus of New Mexico State University, this institute is devoted to education, research and archiving information about chiles (www.chilepepperinstitute.org). They call “them” chile peppers.
Now we move on to the next set of confusion. Which green chile to use? How to balance between the heat requirements of a chutney and easy availability across the grocery stores.
I tend to use green chiles lot more than the dry red chile because they make the chutney fresh and hot rather than just hot in case of the latter. When I was growing up, I was exposed to just to green chiles – one was the super hot thin, tiny ones like thai chiles and the medium hot long ones. So when I came to the US, I came across a bewildering variety, which became even more perplexing when I started research for chutneys and their ingredients.
First and foremost let me tell you what kind of chile is ideal for a chutney. The green chile should be such that it gives the chutney not only heat but also allows the title item’s flavor to come through. Essentially it shouldn’t be so hot that heat is the only taste coming through. A medium hot chile works the best. Plus it should not be thick-skinned. A thick skin will impede cooking and the chile flavor amalgamating with that of the title item. I tried jalapenos, serranos and thai chiles. Though jalapenos don’t pass the skin test, I really like their flavor. But I don’t use them anymore for chutneys because they tend to be rather unreliable in their heat. Sometimes I have to use two/three just to make the tongue aware of the heat and sometimes a single one burns the tongue. Serranos are too hot and their skin is too thick. While making a chutney, the serranos don't get cooked unless chopped to pieces. Poblanos go sweet when cooked. So I have zeroed down on long chiles and thai chiles. Available mostly in Indian grocery stores long chiles have a thin skin and
medium heat. You can substitute serranos for long chiles if you can’t get to an Indian grocery store. Just chop the serranos into ½” -3/4 “ pieces and use half the quantity of the long chiles. I have only recently started using thai chiles, on the suggestion of a cousin and I really like them. Sometimes only one is enough to dissipate the heat smoothly and evenly throughout the dish. Try thai chiles like the serranos, half the quantity of long chiles.
Thecha
Thecha, a chutney with green chiles as the title item, is specific to the eastern region of Maharashtra called Marathwada. With the heat of the chiles complemented by garlic, thecha is an assault on the taste buds. It is pure, unadulterated heat.
With what
- 10 long green chiles
- 2 big cloves of garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp oil and
- water if required to facilitate blending
Unless you're a heat freak, who pops jalapeños in eating contests, I would stay away from making thecha with Thai chiles.
How to
Add oil to a cast iron kadhai and turn the heat to medium. Before it gets too hot add the peppers and garlic. Cover with a lid immediately as otherwise at least one chile will literally explode. As the heat hits the chile, there is an incessant chrrrrr sound and after five minutes when I removed the lid to stir, the skin of one chile tore apart and the chile exploded out of the kadhai onto the next burner. So be careful!
Turn the heat off after 15 minutes. The chiles have become a docile, pale green and the garlic is burnt brown. Add lime juice, salt and grind the thecha coarse. Blend it fine if you want to make a dip and blend it chunky if you want to use it as a sandwich spread.
My mother still grinds the thecha with her stone mortar and pestle.
Thecha can be made without cooking the peppers too. Just grind the peppers, garlic and salt in a chunky texture. Eat it with hot unleavened sorghum bread and a dash of groundnut (peanut) oil And you would have eaten a delicious yet very light lunch like the farmers of Maharashtra.
How to eat
Chutneys with green peppers as their title item are lightning rods sure to bring your palette and taste buds to life. And the combinations are endless - green chiles with garlic, with lime, with yogurt, with peanuts, sautéed, raw or grilled. And the way you can eat them are endless too.
Add a dash of this chutney to sour cream or cream cheese, thin it with little bit of plain yogurt and make a dip for spring rolls. If you are a heat freak, spread the chutney on a piece of bread along with butter. Add a dollop to the bean mix in the burrito.
Watch out for the next post. It's on chutneys that are sweet! Gulp! You'll soon know why I'm making the effort.
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