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Why Only "Hot Peppers?"....Shall we discuss "OTHER" peppers too?

Masala Mojo

Masala Mojo

Friends,

As long as I was in India, we had "chillies" of different varieties with different aromas, different HEAT and different usages.
We used Highly Aromatic BYDGI which is a mild pepper when HEAT is concerned but has Brilliant red color.We had RESHAMPATTI and DOUBLE RESHAMPATTI peppers with blood red color, slightly hotter than Bydgi and less aromatic for medium heat usage in daily cooking.
We had GUNTUR specifically for Avakkai pickle and other Hot pickles. We had certain medium hot green peppers for chutney usage. We had BHAVNAGARI for chilli fritters only.
In using all of the above, we never lost "FLAVOR" factor for that particular usage.

What I find here in US is that there is a lot of stress on HEAT and HOTNESS than on other traits.Please correct me if I am wrong.
There are ridiculously hot sauces which even Gods cannot use.Why is that in practice here?
Food when prepared using spices, has an enhanced appeal to the eater of food.
Any specific trait of food like, taste, flavor, Heat, Spices should not be overpowering.
There has to be a balance of Flavor, Heat and Taste.Only then, a person can enjoy food.

Not that there are no very hot curries in India, in fact there is Vindaloo which is really a very hot curry. But I would take is an an exception.

Can we discuss other peppers and their usages here to enlighten people at large? (like me) And also this "HOT" menia too?

Thanks

NJA
 
Because heat isn't a taste it's a sensation, another dimension. Like 2D and 3D. Of course we seek flavor as well, but heat is the dimension that makes it an experience.

Other peppers are great too, but I can't really see a cult following over the bell. ;)

And of course you can discuss all peppers. :)
 
By the way, you realize this is a hot pepper forum, right? :lol: Kinda like going to a muscle car forum and asking what the big deal is about muscle cars.
 
THP,

As I wrote before, any Dimension cannot and should not thrive at the expense of other dimensions. Unless there is HARMONY between Taste, Flavor and Spices, the food is not worth eating.
Again this is my opinion and people have a right to differ.
Somehow, as a cook, I am not able to digest your arguement.
For example, I just now prepared cilantro chutney .
I will never use Thai Hots for this purpose.
I need a very pungent pepper like Sannam. I used my frozen Sannam and prepared the chutney. Sannam is Hot and has wonderful pungent aroma which is not there as much in Thai.

Thanks for your reply.

NJA

I was damn certain that you would say that this is a HOTPEPPER.COM forum. Why bring in weaklings??

Hehehehe I could not leave others of the tribe behind No?
 
Weaklings? No. Has nothing to do with that. However this is a gathering place for those that enjoy the burn. That certainly does not mean we ignore all else.

Most of us know how to use the heat. It's not like we take a fine meal and pour Tabasco on it and think it's better.
 
Its easy to be crazy hot but I'm most interested in flavor and I really like a lot of mild to medium peppers. Lately most of my favorites seem to all be Mexican or NewMexican. I don't think I've ever tried any good mild Indian peppers yet
 
For me flavor is issue number 1. If it doesn't taste good, I don't eat it. Many times I have went to a restaurant and got some hot wings and couldn't eat them. Not because they are too hot, but because they just tried to make them as hot as they could and they tasted horrible. On the other hand, I have eaten some Thai food that was hotter than any wing I have eaten with no problem because it tasted good.

I am interested in growing, talking about, eating any and all peppers, but people eat do chili peppers for the heat. And the heat level that people enjoy is different for everyone. I know people at work who like tobasco and texas pete and they think those are hot. I don't, although I do liike the taste of Frank's Red Hot even though they should drop the hot part. Now, I haven't tried any of the milder indian peppers so I can't comment on their taste.

jacob
 
As already mentioned, the overall flavor is what I like and the heat level isn't the primary focus. I am planning on growing several types of sweet peppers this year along with several varieties of mild - medium peppers. Of course, I'm still growing the Jolokia and 7 Pod.
 
well, I did not ever think that the intentions of thp were to ban peppers that were not hot. The food and beverage forum gives plenty of room to discuss the milder end of spicy. You Mr NJA, eat peppers for breakfast that I cannot imagine eating, and might not ever. You have expressed that you can eat and enjoy peppers your family will not. I personally find that I can make a VERY HOT (for me) dish- and enjoy it immensely- if all the other flavors are in balance. I have been to a Thai restaurant that had my lips and mouth burning so badly by the third bite, that if there were any other seasonings in the dish, they were lost on me(the dish 's heat was described as 'medium'). I did not enjoy it and will not go back. A friend who is an afficionado of Thai food said that the establishment I visited was not typical of Thai restaurants or Thai food, and I should try to find one that is not owned by this family (tricky, its a large family and it seems every member has opened a restaurant).

IN the US sadly, a few mass marketed vegetable varieties get all the press- so the public in general knows the red, green, and bell peppers, jalepenos, chipotle, and perhaps, habenero.
The same is true of greens, and potatoes. there are in fact, something like 500 variety of potato but the population of the US may know of two to five, tops. I love greens of all kinds, but until recently, there were two kinds of lettuce and maybe three kinds of cooking greens available. Arugula was unheard of when I was a child!
I know nothing of the great variety of peppers you have mentioned -my knowledge of making and using chutneys is sadly, very limited.

In the short time I have been coming to this forum I have been impressed with the great culinary knowledge present here- and a total lack of snobbishness to go with it. Everyone here seems to be as eager to learn as to teach and share. By all means tell us everything you know about all of these exotic peppers of which you speak, and how to use them and where to get them.(please?) What we all have in common is a love of food and flavor and the endorphin rush we get from chillies.
 
I grow 5 different varieties of sweet pepper (Capsicum in Australia), and I love useing them in my food most nights. I have white, orange, chocolate, massive yellow ones and almost sugar like yellow ones. I love them and they are a valued part of my garden. I also grow a number of mild chillis for meals I cook when someone else is around!!! :)
 
While I was in Chicago during Christmas, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the owner/chef of a mom and pop indian place up there...I spent nearly two hours talking to him...was a slow day, Monday after Christmas....he was talking about the different peppers and the different dimensions they give different dishes...very knowledgeable it seemed...that is what I am after and what I find interesting about Indian cuisine is the aromas that accompany the absolute exquisite taste of the dishes. That being said, there is a use for each pepper out there and it is my goal to find the best use of it or combination of peppers that fits my taste...I can eat it extreme, but I had rather eat it mildly extreme and taste the subtleness of the flavors while I waft in the aromas....
 
celeste,

I am pretty impressed with the honesty you showed in your posting.
Yes, I joined this forum with an open mind to learn and learn is what I have been doing.
People here are warm and no SNOBS.
That's why I had to post Strong Protest Against "thehotpepper.com"

It might surprise you , but India has only about 50 varieties of Chilli peppers .
Mexico has most number of pepper varieties.

What India has is unique in many respects.
A great many flavors, colors and Pungencies.

I will try and bring many of those or all of those to the US .
It is just a matter of time.
Thanks

NJA
 
AJ,

Yes, the Indian curry owes its fame to judicious use of chilli peppers in terms of the varieties and forms.
Some dishes like Mirchi ka salan which is a Hyderabadi curry, is best made with hot Sannams . A Thai will not work . This is because of peculiar pungent flavor of Sannam with their heat.

Sambar is best when you use Bydgi and Sannam in combination.

More when we discuss differnt peppers.

NJA
 
AJ you would know all about that yet you still are trying to learn. I like all peppers and am on a mission to locate and try every new pepper I can. Whether it be a Trinidad Scorpion, or a Trinidad Seasoning. I grow a variety of different heats for a multitude of different uses. I too am eager to learn from you NJA about the different peppers of India. I hope you continue to post pics and posts about them, and especially look forward to hearing and seeing pics from your trip. As far as the American attitude about the hotter the better, it just goes to show that this country -right or wrong- is about excess. Everyone wants the biggest, fastest, hottest, etc etc.
 
I'm growing alot of super hots this season....some would say too many ;), but I am also interested in the flavours of a few sweet and mild ones, these are what I am also growing this season;

Botinecka Zuta
Chocolate Sweet Capsicum
Corno Di Toro Rosso
Cyklon
Etiuda
Feiherozon
Ingrid
Jimmy Nardello
Jolanta
Marta Polka
Oda
Ozarowska
Pimentos de Padron
Rokita
Romano Blush
Rubinova
Yolo Wonder

There's probably a few more there as well, I'm yet too taste most of them...just another taste sensation!!!!:P

A few more I just remembered;

St Lucia Seasoning
Tobago Seasoning
Trinidad Perfume
 
thehotpepper.com said:
It's not like we take a fine meal and pour Tabasco on it and think it's better.
Click to expand...

Oh, I don't know......I have been known to do this....:rofl:

And by the way....I never pass up the opportunity to try new foods...of any kind. :)
 
heat without flavour is not good there are a good few peppers out that that i've tried that just give you a really sharp burn that is all on the lips and tip of the tongue, this i don't like.
with the superhots you get flavour and an amazing burn then you get the 'rush' and bathe in the glow and you still have flavours coming through.
as for the vindaloo that has to be one of my favorite dishes, but it's never super hot (unless i ask for more heat to be put in!) and most of the indian restaurants over here are on the naga bandwagon with 1 naga dish on the menu (always using naga pickle)
i enjoy a phall as well but only if it packs as much flavour as heat, flavour always comes first in anything whether it's hot or not (just so happens i like it hot!!!)
 
I don't get the point of this thread. If THP only was about heat me and most of the guys wouldn't be around. A google research about scoville units would do the trick. What I love about THP is that people from mostly all over the world discuss peppers from mostly all over the world, that we discuss different flavors, different heat levels, different use, different processing, different recipes etc. in a community that has created a lot of friendships. And that community has great merits of spreading rare and new varieties, be it wild or heirloom varieties from hidden places in the jungles of Latin America, be it the hottest varieties from the carribean or India. There are so many varieties I didn't know before I joined THP. Who knew the 7Pot five years ago? Here the different strains are discussed and the seeds spread worldwide. I received carribean seeds from Canada, a British strain of an Indian variety from Australia and so on. You only have to stray through the kitchen related areas here to read all the discussions about flavors and their use. It's the flavor, not the heat alone, that makes people grow dozens of different varieties.
Since most of the people here come from the US, Canada, Australia and Europe naturally the varieties available there are the point of discussion most of the time. There is a gap to be filled with Indian and other Asian varieties. True. So start to fill it!:)
 
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