'Chilli' a spice from Mexico

Chilli, also known as Chilli pepper is the berry-fruit or pods of various plants belonging to the family, ‘Solanaceae’ and is widely used as a spice.

The varieties of chilli that we use other than the varieties of capsicums (Capsicum annuum) are scientifically known as ‘Capsicum frutescens’. And they produce a wide variety of fruits with different ranges of pungency or hotness due to the amount of capsaicin-the chemical contained in the chilli fruits which is responsible for producing the strong hot taste and a burning sensation-measured in the scale known as Scoville scale.

Chilli peppers are believed to have originated from Mexico and have reportedly been in use since about 3500 BC. It is used in cuisines and traditional medicines across the globe either in dried and ground forms or in raw and sliced or crushed forms. it is a main ingredient in curries, sauces and pickles, and is one of the most used spices in the world.

There are mainly five domesticated and widely grown species of chilli and there are around 400 varieties of Chilli in the world.

Chillies are a good source of Vitamin A, B, and E, carbohydrates, protein and minerals. It helps to improve immunity in human body and control blood sugar levels. It is also good for the skin and helps in the digestion of food and bowel movements and is used in many Ayurvedic medicines.

Chillies are crops of tropical, subtropical regions and are grown in rainy seasons. January- February, June- July and September- October are the suitable seasons for sowing chilli. Sandy loam and clay loam soils are suitable for chilli cultivation which can be done in both Kharif and Rabi seasons

Some of the main varieties of chilli grown in India are MI-1, MI-2, KA-2, Arunalu, MI-Hot, K 1, K2, Pusa Jwala, Manjari, F1 Hybrid, VNR-21-7, Hybrid Chilli Trishul, Hybrid Chilli Sachin, Phule Mukta, Surkta, Kashmiri double chilli, Birds eye chilli, Byadagi, Kanthari, Phule Jyoti, Mundu Chilli, Guntur Chilli etc.

The chilli, Carolina Reaper is considered the world’s hottest chilli ranging around 16,41,483 SHU (Scoville Heat Unit) while the chillies that we normally use range between 50,000 to 100,000 SHUs.

The top producers of chilli in the world are India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Peru, Thailand, Myanmar, Ethiopia and Vietnam. The major exporters are India, China, Peru, Spain and Mexico, and the main importers are the US, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Spain and Germany.

In India, Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of chilli with more than 26% of the total production in the country. Other major producers are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.

The main trading markets of chilli in India:

Andhra Pradesh (Guntur, Warangal, Khammam, Krishna )
Tamil Nadu (Dindigul, Erode, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli,)
Karnataka (Belgaum, Chitradurga, Dharwad, Kolar)
Maharashtra (Kolhapur, Amravati, Chandrapur, Nagpur)

Names of chilli in different Indian languages:

Hindi                 Mirch
Tamil                 Milakay
Malayalam        Mulak