Hot chilli is the stuff eaten by any self-respecting Durbanite, goes with salad and chutneys.
Chiles vary in colour, shape, size and degree of heat. It can causes mouths and eye to burn. It can be applied to any main meals.
The name given to hot pepper varieties in Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., Ireland and Canada. Chilli is the word for chile peppers in the Mexican Indian language, Nahuatl.
Small red peppers used in seasoning.
Chillies used in recipes are fresh ones, either the red or green variety as stated. Chillies are pounded up in a kundi (mortar), or minced and stored in bottles in a fridge, and used as required. A tablespoon of oil mixed-in with ground chillies, makes for better preservation. If red fresh chillies are not available then the red dried crushed ones are an excellent substitute. Red chilli powder may be used but care should be taken that they are not coloured artificially, since these give the curries an unattractive colour. As chillies vary in sharpness, the housewife will adapt her measurements accordingly.
The Chinese tend to prefer milder chillies, but your choice of chillies really comes down to personal taste. Small red bird's eye chillies give dishes a bite but are not as fiercely hot as some of those used in Southeast Asian cooking. Large red chillies have a slightly sweet flavour, with low to medium heat.
(Fresh and dried are available in many different types and sizes. The small ones (bird's eye or bird peppers) are the hottest. Use tight rubber gloves when chopping fresh chilies as they can burn your skin. The seeds are the hottest part, so remove them if you want to reduce the heat content of recipes.