Byadgi chilli
Capsicum annuum 'Byadgi' · Chilli pepper
Top 10 pairings
The Byadgi chilli is a mild, deeply wrinkled dark-red chilli from Karnataka in South India, valued above all for the rich crimson colour it lends a dish rather than for heat (roughly 8,000–15,000 SHU on the seed count, but far milder in the deep-red, low-seed pods sold for colour). Named for the town of Byadgi, it is one of India's two great commercial red chillies and a staple of South Indian cooking.
Picking a good onedrag
UnderripeOverripe
Red ripePeakIt's sweetest and hottest now. Roast it, make chilli oil or sauce, or string it to dry.
ColourFully turned, bright even red
The pressFirm, springs straight back
Cap and stalkCap green and tight, stalk firming
Smell at the capWarm and fruity over the green
These cues are Chilli's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.
What you get from one
73%
Edible part
45 g · fresh pod, stem and seeds out
62 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
Below 7 °C the skin pits and the cap moulds: in two weeks at 5 °C, in days at 0 °C.
90-95%
Humidity
Loosely bagged
Airflow