Indian Red Chili and its History of Appeal
Throughout history, Indian spices have maintained their popularity across the world. The appeal? Their flavors, aroma, and tanginess that reaches inside you and screams YUM! These spices allured chefs, food connoisseurs, and rulers since ancient times. For this reason, the spice trade grew with steady popularity.
A wide variety of spices are grown across India’s sub-continent. The history of the spice trade with India helped to grow relationships and strengthen economic conditions. One spice that is the most common to about every household in the world is ‘chili or chili powder.’ India produces about half of the world’s chili powder.
Chili is a common ingredient in daily life because of its flavor, color, taste, and India has been a world leader in the production of chili. There are many species of chili, however, we use two main types of chili, red chili and Kashmiri chili. Red chili contains more spiciness because it has a higher content of capsaicin in it. Capsaicin is the main compound of chili that gives it heat and flavor.
Science has found that capsaicin, when used in moderation, offers many health benefits:
- It contains Vitamin C in huge amounts
- Chili is a water-soluble antioxidant
- They contain Vitamin B, carotene, and minerals like iron, magnesium, and potassium
- Improves metabolism and blood circulation
- Can work as a pain reliever and anti-bacterial as well
- Helps to clear a congested respiratory system
- Helps in reducing weight and accelerates digestion
- For those overweight, it reduces LDL cholesterol
- Improves the immune system as it contains Vitamin A, B, and C
- Helps in the treatment of arthritis, psoriasis, etc. as it is anti-inflammatory.
Processed spices contain very few health benefits and can lose their flavor. At Royal India, we hand-grind our spices to preserve their highest potency and to ensure full flavor. At Royal India Thailand, we use a combination of red chili powder and Kashmiri chili powder. Kashmiri chili contains a vibrant hue that adds brilliant red color to our curry dishes. Depending on the individual dish, common red chili is used to bring out the spice in our Indian food.
For example, we use a unique combination of ingredients in our Flawless Mutton Masala. Our hand-ground Kashmiri chili powder adds a brilliant red hue along with a mild spicy flavor to this popular dish.
