Serious Heat: What to Make with Bhut Jolokia, the World's Hottest Chile
Editor's note: On Thursdays, Andrea Lynn, associate editor of Chile Pepper Magazine drops by with Serious Heat.
Photograph from Misterbisson on Flickr
My mom proudly gloated about her garden-grown red savina habaneros, claiming the chiles were the world’s hottest. I hated to break her heart, but I had to set the record straight—the poor red savina has been demoted ever since the Guinness World Records crowned the bhut jolokia as the world’s spiciest chile in 2007. Last year, Ed blogged about this mighty chile with a million units on the Scoville scale, compared to 400,000 for the red savina. Also known as the ghost chile, in India its paste is not only used for hot sauce but also for tear gas. And while the chiles are known there for treating stomach ailments, we’re sure they’ve also caused quite a few.
Last week came the incredulous news that a 28-year-old woman in India, Anandita Dutta Tamuly, first smeared the chile’s seeds on her eyes (is she crazy?) before downing 51 of the chiles in two minutes, earning her an entry into the Guinness World Records. We’ve hosted chile-eating contests where contestants chomped and slurped their way through 20 jalapeños. One winner’s trick was to swallow the peppers whole while another's was to numb his taste buds with vodka prior to the competition. But chowing down on the jolokia is a whole other story.
We’ve had our own experiences with the powerful ghost chile. A former Chile Pepper editorial assistant, Maggie DeMenna, created a blazing salsa recipe using a dried version of the chiles from Kalustyan's. She wore gloves and tied a bandana around her nose and mouth as to not breathe in the fumes once she started blending the salsa in the food processor. And there was the matter of her cat, Sancho. “Once I started blending, Sancho began meowing constantly until he ran into my room and hid out under my bed,” Maggie said. “I closed the door to spare him for the next couple of hours that the chile fumes took to fade away.”
We found bhut jolokia is best when it's used to spike a chunky tomato salsa, or as a chile oil to drizzle on stews or made into a spice-filled mayonnaise. If you think you’re a match for the smoldering power of the bhut jolokia, we urge you to try them in the recipes below and not swallowing them whole. Save that madness by watching others, including the Food Network's Sunny Anderson, do it on YouTube.
Bhut Jolokia Fire Salsa
Photo by Bill Milne
Dried, whole bhut jolokia chiles are available from Kalustyan's (under the name naga jolokia) or seeds through the Chile Pepper Institute. Use gloves and proceed with extreme caution when working with these fiery peppers—just the scent is enough to knock you off your feet. Remember, a little goes a long way. Mix it into rice and beans or gloss over a crunchy taco.
- makes about 2 1/2 cups -
Recipe by Maggie DeMenna.
Zest Factor: Very Hot
Ingredients
1/2 ounce stemmed, dried bhut jolokia chiles
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
Salt
Ingredients
In a bowl, add dried chiles, and cover with hot water. Rehydrate for 15 minutes. In a blender, combine chiles and 1/3 cup soaking water, and then add garlic and vinegar; purée. In a bowl, add chile purée to tomatoes, and combine.
Ghost Chile Oil
- makes 3 cups -
Recipe by Jon Wipfli.
Zest Factor: Hot
Ingredients
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/4 cups canola oil
1 dried bhut jolokia chile, cut in half lengthwise
Procedure
Preheat the oven to 225ºF. In an oven-safe dish, add oils and chile. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 3 hours. Remove from oven, transfer to airtight container, and place in refrigerator to cool. For added heat, leave pepper in the oil. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 month.
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16 Comments:
Hey SE editors - I think the note at the top of this post can go....
Maureen at 1:45PM on 04/16/09
I was going to say that Maureen.
Thanks for the recipes though. I would LOVE to try this chile, I've read about it many times. I do want to order them someday and I appreciate an easy way to use them.
alosha7777 at 1:50PM on 04/16/09
@Maureen: Thanks! All fixed.
Erin Zimmer at 2:01PM on 04/16/09
i've actually had one of these. well a piece of one. okay, a piece about the size of a McDonalds onion. And believe me- that was more than enough
aimingforzero at 2:22PM on 04/16/09
I'm guessing that the woman who smears them on her eyes probably doesn't feel a thing. She might have a mutation in the receptor for capsaicin which incidentally only mammals have. You can get this or any kind of pepper to a bird and it will feel nothing. That is the basis for pepper treated seed for which keeps squirrels away but not birds.
sally599 at 2:44PM on 04/16/09
i have no idea what size a "McDonalds onion" is. but i'm assuming that's small?
dmarina at 2:57PM on 04/16/09
@dmarina, i think aimingforzero is referring to the extremely finely diced onions on McDonald's hamburgers. Took me a minute to figure out, too. So yes, a really small piece of the pepper.
Embackus at 3:10PM on 04/16/09
What is the advantage of using a Bhut Jolokia (1/2 ounce, per the recipe above) to spice up a tomato-based salsa as opposed to, say, a 1-ounce Red Savina, or for that matter, a 2-ounce (or whatever) Habanero? Does 1/2 ounce of the Bhut Jolokia really add a distinctive flavor? What is the point of seeking out this particular chile?
Lorenzo at 3:45PM on 04/16/09
Is there a doctor in the house? Can't eating this many peppers result in physical harm? If asprin can give you an ulcer, what will these bad boys do? And it goes without saying, they must make an ungraceful exit.
lambowner at 4:03PM on 04/16/09
Things like aspirin and NSAIDs can cause ulcers, but between 60-90% of stomach-y ulcers are caused by heliobacter colonies. Chiles would be able to aggravate an existing ulcer, but not cause one.
No argument about the exit though. Ow.
leilah at 6:09PM on 04/16/09
I can't find the peppers on Kalustyan's site. When I click dried whole chilis it says, "Sorry, there are presently no items in this Department."!?!?
I also could not find the text naga jolokia on their main page. Any suggestions?
gschaefer at 7:47PM on 04/16/09
@gschaefer: go the Kalustyan's site; in the upper right corner is a search request. type in "naga jolokia" and two entries should come up (at least they do for me): whole chiles and a powder.. Let me know if that doesn't work for ya.
@Lorenzo: every chile has its own uniqueness. the jolokia delivers a longer, full-bodied heat. And, of course, what about those bragging rights that you've tried the world's hottest chile?
Andrea Lynn at 10:16AM on 04/17/09
We're getting some seeds to grow so we can more fully explore their flavour possibilities. We have a lot of discerning fans who love extreme heat when (and only when) made into something that's utterly delicious as well. Simply "competing" over who can handle the most heat is childish fratboy macho bullshit and has naught to do with good food.
On the other hand, some of the most satisfying and delicious creations we've ever made are described by many who've tasted them as insanely hot but, by the true chile-heads, as having achieved that delicate balance of exquisite flavour AND hot enough to insure the desirable heavy capsaicin rush us "junkies of the Scoville crave".
Having said that, I'm curious to see what Jalokia can (literally) bring to the table in achieving said balance. Since we've only been able to try the dried version so far, we don't yet know whether they're worth the fuss or not. Up til now, nothing's been able to surpass what we've achieved with Habanero (and its closest cousins) because of their wonderful fruity/smoky flavour and heavy-duty capsaicin content. I guess we'll see soon enough. I'll be glad to report in once we do if anyone's interested in our results.
ThirdStoneFoodLab at 6:33PM on 04/22/09
For anyone seeking the dried "ghost chile" they are available through the World Spice Market in Seattle. http://www.worldspice.com/spices/0038ghostchile.shtml
World Spice is an awesome resource for fresh spices from around the globe.
atlasdoc2 at 2:28PM on 05/03/09
I ate one of these peppers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axCfa6pbDhA&feature=related
and I had no idea was these pepper could be cooked in. I can't wait to try one of these recipes. I bet it will be easier to swallow than, what I had done! :)
JLArcand at 6:35PM on 06/21/09
I cooked half of one in a mixed vegetable dish and it added serious heat.
I use habaneros in chili, in hot Mexican cheese dip (which is a big holiday pot luck winner, half the folks at most parties love it the other half won't taste it) and in omelets. I will use the Bhut peppers in those . I got a few from a friend who grew them I am going to dry them out and try to plant the seeds next spring to grow my own.
Hot pepper does stimulate stomach acid so if you have an ulcer it can make it worse but it doesn't actually burn the skin, just stimulates the pain and heat receptors in the nerves to fool the body into thinking it is being burnt. The heat and pain receptors use the same nerve fibers so both are stimulated at the same time. Blistering from hot peppers is a result of the body being fooled so it is not really common. No flesh is actually being harmed by the hot pepper you just think it is. It is very true (from bitter experience) that the peppers do pass through into the stool and eliminating them can be VERY painful.
gashrink1 at 8:55AM on 11/09/09