BHUT JOLOKIA - THE CHILI QUEEN

Bhut Jolokia - Pic Credit Wikipedia

North-Eastern India is in the news these days, whether it's Olympic medals or the spice export.

BHUT JOLOKIA 's export caught my eyes. It is also known as "ghost chilly" from northeast Indian state of Nagaland. Bhut Jolokia has been exported to London for the first time. Bhut Jolokia literally means "Bhutanese Chilli in Assamese.

Bhut Jolokia held the  Guinness World Records of the hottest chili pepper in the world in 2007. It is rated as 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce  (SHU 3750). The ghost chili is rated at more than one million Scoville Heat Units (SHUs). I never knew the hotness of chili has a measure. :P

Chocolate Ghost Pepper - Pic credit Wikipedia

The ghost chili was superseded by the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper in 2011 and Carolina Reaper in 2013 on the hotness scale. 

Ghost chili was assigned GI tag in 2008. The full form of the GI tag is a geographical indication that refers to the special geographical location or origin of the product. It is like the protection of intellectual property rights which safeguards the creation and sale of a product originating in distinct geography and culture. 

India exported its first-ever consignment of 250 kg to London in special packaging after getting plant quarantine permission from London. So, few palates in London are sure to raise their hot quotient. :) May this beauty from Nagaland make continental cuisine condiment options fierier.

Purple Bhut Jolokia - Pic credit Wikipedia

Ghost peppers are used in fresh and dried forms to "spice up" the curries, pickles, and chutneys. In northeastern India, the peppers are smeared on fences or incorporated in smoke bombs as a safety precaution to keep wild elephants at a distance. Its intense heat makes it a fixture in competitive chili-pepper eating.

Yellow Bhut Jolokia - Pic Credit Wikipedia

Very unusual use of ghost pepper is in the making of chili granade. In 2009, scientists at India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) announced the use of peppers in hand grenades as a nonlethal method to control rioters and pepper sprays in self-defense. It also mentioned that ghost pepper-based aerosol sprays could be used as a "safety device", and "civil variants" of chili grenades could be used to control and disperse mobs. Chili grenades made from ghost peppers were successfully used by the Indian Army in August 2015 to flush out terrorists hiding in caves.

The ghost pepper is really hot!