When one’s going home from south India to Guwahati in Assam, requests can get quite hot. ‘Get me some Bhut Jolokia’ is common, as against ‘get a me a silk sari.’ So what is this Bhut Jolokia? Bhut Jolokia or Ghost chilli gets its name from its level of hotness and means, ‘a chilli that can drive the devil away’. In early 2000, when any Assamese went home, what came back with them was either a pack of pitha (rice flour goodies) or a bottle of jalpai pickle (Indian olive pickle). That has changed, almost overnight. With the Bhut Jolokia entering the Guinness Book of World Records and people eating and rubbing the chilli in daredevil acts on TV, the chilli brand has turned a superstar. The consequences of this superstardom are many, most notable among which are its mass production and the drop in pungency. This is clear from the fact that those who could barely eat a sliver of the chilli are now comfortably eating much more than sliver. And no it’s not due to changing palates. So, how does the chilli look? It is big and hollow and has a wrinkled texture. The skin is as thin as betel leaf and is almost paper light. This chilli cannot be dried because it begins to melt as its number of days sitting in a corner/refrigerator increases.
Bhut Jolokia, also known as Bih jolokia (notorious chilli), magically improves the flavour of non-veg curries, especially when added to pork and chicken. Another great way to relish the Bhut Jolokia is to add it to the alu pitika (mash potato) and enjoy it with a morsel of rice. Besides pickling, it is used as an everyday ingredient. Also owing to its low shelf life, it’s added to spice up sour fruits.
It’s not just the Assamese who love the Bhut Jolokia, the Nagas also use this chilli in their dishes, only in Nagaland it is known as Naga Jolokia. Naga cuisine frequently uses this chilli with a combination of fermented bamboo shoot. “Bhut Jolokia makes for a good combination with fermented bamboo shoot. Besides relishing it raw, we also use to in our dried beef/ pork/ fish chutneys. An ideal combination of a traditional pork dish would be Bhut Jolokia, bamboo shoot and mezenga (Indian schezuan pepper). Assamese and Naga dishes aren’t all the same, but there are many ingredients common to both cuisines. While Naga cuisine involves a lot of steaming and boiling, ingredients remain the same. Ingredients like black sesame seed pose aste, acacia leaves and the use of peppers in varying quantities make the dishes stand apart in flavours,” says Arzoo Sarma, a restaurateur and a qualified mixologist whose love for cooking prompted her to start a restaurant, Swing. Here, specialised Naga and Assamese food can be ordered on request for banquets.
Arzoo points out another ingredient that goes to distinguish Assamese dishes. “A very flavourful scented indigenous lemon is the Gul Nemu (round nemu). It is mostly used in fish curries. The other lemon is called Kaji nemu and then the humble Elephant Apple that is used as a souring agent. Some also use kokum or thekera in their fish dishes,” explains Arzoo as she gives a sample of Bhut Jolokia chicken to taste, a dish that is bound to make you go red in the face with its pungency. She also goes on to showcase dried acacia leaves in pork and chicken, sesame seed paste and pork with other common ingredients besides mezenga. All these are served with steamed sticky rice cakes. Of course, all these dishes had one common ingredient – none other than the Bhut Jolakia.
Travelling Bhuts
* Bhut Jolokia cannot be brought as hand luggage, whether it is one piece or 1 kg, it has to be part of the check-in luggage.* Once pickled in oil and salt, this spice can be used for a long time.
* There are a lot of ways to pickle these chillies, some mix it with vegetables and sour fruits.
* The best way to relish these chillies is by adding it to any non-veg dish, especially dry fries.
* In smoked dishes, the chilli adds a different flavour.
