The Pantry / Dried red chilli
Dried red chilli
sukhi lal mirch
The ripe chilli, dried to a slower, deeper burn.
What it is
Dried red chillies are ripe chillies sun-dried whole, giving a deeper, slightly smoky, rounder heat than fresh green ones. Cracked into hot oil they perfume a tempering; ground, they become chilli powder. Different varieties bring very different heat and colour.
Where it comes from
Like all chillies, a New World import absorbed across the region after the sixteenth century. Dried varieties are named and prized by area — the mild, red Kashmiri among the best known.
What it's called
Dried red chilli · sukhi lal mirch / sabut lal mirch (Hindi). Ground it becomes red chilli powder.
In the kitchen
Whole dried chillies are broken into hot oil at the start of a tempering, or fried and ground into pastes and powders. They give a slow, deep heat and, depending on variety, colour. A tempering of dried chilli and cumin in ghee is a dish in itself.
What we know about the claims
As with fresh chilli, capsaicin and vitamin content, eaten to taste; a flavour and a heat rather than a health input. Heat tolerance is the only real caution.
Choosing and buying
Whole dried chillies in every South Asian grocer (UK and US). Kashmiri dried chillies give colour with mild heat; hotter varieties for fire.