Indians love spicy food. And if you are a chilihead, read on – here is Skyscanner‘s list of some of the hottest dishes from around India that are sure to make you huff and puff. Let’s get a taste of which dishes get the Scoville scale racing! Health warning – it’s going to get really hot!
1. Bhut Jolokia Pickle, Assam
Bhut Jolokia or Ghost Chili ranks amongst the hottest peppers in the world. Found primarily in North East India; it has made its way into a number of dishes around the country, putting them on this list. But the top place is reserved for a preparation found in Assam – Bhut Jolokia Pickle. Be warned that dishes using this pepper can make your mouth go numb; and if anyone is brave – or stupid – enough to eat it raw, the experience is other worldly, more like hellish. This pepper has been given pride of place amongst the hottest in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records, and pushes the Scoville (pungency or spicy heat) meter between an impressive 855,000 and 1,500,000 Scoville units. So watch the amount of pickle you put in your plate and keep lots of water and sweet dishes ready to handle post-pickle trauma!
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2. Iromba, Manipur
Iromba is Manipur’s fiery ode to the Ghost Chili. Primarily a dish made from fermented fish, it also uses vegetables and Manipur’s favourite ingredient- bamboo shoot. Mashed up with Bhut Jolokia, the dish comes into its own – a strong, pungent smell shoots off warnings of red hot stuff! Eaten with rice; Iromba is quite a healthy dish, once the burning dies down.
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Photo credit: scoopwhoop
3. Pork Vindaloo, Goa
Another hottie that’s sure to make you sweat, Pork Vindaloo is famous around the world for its crazy chili quotient. Served in south western style Indian restaurants in Goa, this dish was introduced by the Portuguese and stayed here. In fact, there are quite a few variations of the same, but the essential fiery bit remains. Traditionally made with pork, some interpretations use chicken or lamb mixed with potatoes. The ingredient responsible for bringing Pork Vindaloo on to this list is Kashmiri chili which is sometimes replaced by the notorious Bhut Jolokia. Rice and/or chapatti served with it, comes to whatever little rescue that’s possible.
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4. Laal Maas, Rajasthan
Rajasthan’s entry into the list is in the form of one of its rare non-vegetarian dishes called Laal Maas. Primarily a vegetarian cuisine, Rajasthani fare surprises with this superb interpretation of mutton gravy. The chili responsible for making sure that the faint hearted stay away from this hot gastronomical adventure is called Mathania red chili, which comes from a place called Mathania in Jodhpur. Like most North Indian curries, Laal Maas is served with roti.
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Photo credit: Gagandeep Sapra
5. Mushroom Chettinad, Tamil Nadu
News for vegetarian chiliheads – here is a dish from Tamil Nadu that is bound to make you cry all over it – Mushroom Chettinad. This number, like most others in Chettinad cuisine, is aromatic and spicy – there is ample use of various spices in its curry – from poppy seeds to fennel to coriander seeds. The distinctive bit is the use of red chili powder instead of green chili; and lots of it! Those spongy mushrooms have never tasted so hot! Perfect when served with steamed rice.
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Photo credit: acbistro
6. Rista, Jammu and Kashmir
This explosive lamb meatball curry is like a grenade going off in your mouth. A major ingredient of this curry is red chili powder, the quantity and flavour of which put various other spices in it to shame. This dish of hand pounded meat is world famous and every Kashmiri Wazwan restaurant worth its name has red hot Rista on its menu. As the rule goes, Rista is best eaten with bland naan bread or cumin rice.
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Photo credit: Kashmiri Food Recipes
7. Kozhi Curry, Kerala
Kerala’s entry to our list traces its origins to early Jewish settlers. Kozhi Curry is a hot chicken curry which is made with more than adequate amounts of green chili peppers as well as dried up and ground red chili peppers; and everything (read hot spices) in between! Goes well with rice.
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Photo credit: Yummy O Yummy
8. Andhra Chili Chicken, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra food is infamous for being incredibly spicy. And Andhra Chili Chicken in particular, promises to set more than your tongue on fire. Even when teamed up with dull and boring steamed rice, this preparation of chicken gets you all sweaty and teary eyed; and that’s just to begin with. If being marinated in green chili paste was not explosive enough, it is then cooked in green chilies for that special zing that makes you go through the roof. Watch what you order in an Andhra restaurant!
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Photo credit: Live To Eat
9. Shutki Maach, Bengal
A typically Bengali dish, this dish of sun dried fish is prepared in extremely hot and spicy gravy with lots of red chili powder. Known for its pungent smell, Shutki Maach is an acquired taste which becomes a favourite if it passes your nose test. It is set off perfectly when served with hot (read ‘temperature’ hot here) steaming rice and whole red chilies (of course).
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Photo credit: Rummana’s Kitchen
10. Kolhapuri Chicken, Maharashtra
Kolhapur is famous for its spices; its ‘mirchi’ is of the ‘tikhi’ variety. So naturally, recipes originating in the land of above average chilies are bound to burn. Kolhapuri Chicken is one such dish that does its city proud. Incredibly hot, enough to make you want to drink water by the gallon, Kolhapuri Chicken goes well with naan bread or crispy jowar roti.
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Photo credit: Ranjitha Deepesh
Have you battled and won a gastronomic duel with any of these worthy red hot opponents? Is there another spicy number you think deserves to be on this list? Let us know in the comments below.
