Red hot chilli pepper

A woman in Assam last month gobbled up 51 of the world’s hottest chillies in two minutes for an entry into the Guinness World Records. The 28-year-old Anandita Dutta Tamuly performed the feat before celebrity British chef Gordon Ramsay who was visiting India for a television shoot for his new global food series. TWF correspondent Ranjita Biswas discovers how the fire-hot chilli of Assam can boast of a historical journey and facilitate cultural exchange

In Assam in India's North East, the word "naga" is affixed to many things to connote something strong or extreme. For example, 'Naga tenga' is an extremely sour fruit which is too sour even by the standard of Assamese people whose cuisine is full of sour preparations. Then there is the 'Naga dao', a very sharp machete. Add to the list Naga Jolokia, a variety of green chilli which now wears the crown of being the hottest chilli on earth with its fiery power. "Jolokia" in local language means chilli. The chillis are found near Tezpur on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river which flows through the Assam valley.

The Naga tribe, however, belongs to present Nagaland state. But for centuries, people of these hills and plains of Assam have been intermixing socially and culturally ignoring geographical borders. The Naga tribes were known for their prowess and fierceness in battle. Perhaps that is why the affix of 'naga' came about in these evocative words in the Assamese language.

The Naga Jolokia or Bhut Jolokia, (bhut = ghost; jolokia= chilli) of Assam, however, has had to fight to hold its position. In 2000, when this variety was declared to be the hottest chilli on earth by a researcher in the Defence Research Laboratory, Tezpur, with a spice heat of 855,000 Scoville Heat Units, the report in the Current Science magazine caused skepticism in some quarters. Frank Garcia of GNS Spices of California who cultivates the Red Savina, another red hot variety, brought it to the notice of the Chili Pepper Institute of the New Mexico State University to verify the claim. For the test, the Naga Jolokia had to be grown in that country and its claim verified under strict standards. After it was done, the verdict was out. The Assam native of the family of Capsicum Frutescent won hands down with a scorching 1,001,304 Scoville heat units and has been recognised by the Guinness World Records.

Anandita Dutta Tamuly, the homemaker and mother of a 3-year-old who gobbled the chillies and even smeared them on her eyes, told a foreign news agency after her feat this April: "I felt so terrible I could eat only 51. In 2006, I had eaten 60 of them in two minutes for a local record event. But I am sure I shall make it to the Guinness World Records."

In some parts of Assam the chilli is called Bih Jolokia (bih= poison) and to put the record straight, some experts say, the bhut prefix does not mean 'ghost' chilli with haunts he palette but refers to the Bhuts, as Assamese referred to the people from Bhutan which borders the upper reaches of the state at the Himalayan foothills. Perhaps the chilli was native to that land? Who knows?

Again, perhaps the word 'native' is a misnomer too in this case. Food historians say that though chilli, green or red, dried or powdered, is an integral part of Indian cookery today, the use of the spice does not go much into the hoary past. In fact, it is the Portuguese who are credited to have introduced the country to chilli pepper from the New World. They landed in India in the 15th century to trade in spices for which India was justly famous. Traditional Indian recipes before that show liberal use of black pepper and cloves to spice up the dishes . The love for 'hot' dishes made the Indians take to the new plant with enthusiasm.

The Portuguese influence on modern Indian cooking is also evident in the use of vinegar as a marinating agent and in the famous hot vindaloo curry of Goa , introduction of the tomato without which curries of Punjab is incomplete today, the potato, etc.
From far off Americas to India's North East where the king of chillies grow as hybrids today, it has been a long journey indeed. And perhaps even for the plant itself. Recent researches by food archeologists from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, have found fossils to show that the spice was domesticated by inhabitants of a wide swathe of areas from Bahamas, Panama to Peru more than 6000 years ago. The study was published in the Science journal, reported Los Angeles Times.

Today, the green chilli, if not the Bhut Jolokia which can floor even a veteran chilli lover, is an integral part of the Assamese platter of steamed rice and lentil curry.