Hottie Companions

I have tried many different types of chilies during my globe trotting although I cannot remember their names… The hottest variety of chilies that I have ever had is orange habanero which has a heat unit of 210,000, its heat much, much higher as compared to other variety such as: tabasco: 120,000 jalapeno M: 25,000 Long Slim cayenne: 23,000 pasilla: 5,500 serrano: 4,000 bell: 0 Chilies are quite useful especially as thug-repelling pepper spray and there is also an ointment that contains the active ingredient in chili peppers is used to soothe sore muscles. Another good use: Chili powder is fed to captive flamingoes to keep their feathers pink. But the most popular reason that I love them is for their flavor and my food is never complete without chilies. While in Suriname, we would get orange habanero (which were yellowish in color and had peculiar taste) so hot, that it would burn the fingers that held it, my mom would use gloves to cut it but I used to eat it raw, till I started developing painful infection in my ears. (may be, its’ fumes were developing the fungus in my ears) My favorite meal was Surinamese style ‘Chicken Roti’, which was white flour roti, stuffed with chicken, string beans and lots of red chutney made from these hot peppers…hmmn…I m still drooling….. But when I migrated to Canary Island, I was surprised with the bland food…the hottest sauce that one can get in Tenerife is Tabasco….I found food so tasteless that I would carry a small bottle of home-made chilly paste in my hang-bag all the time…. I also enjoy the food in Bangkok, which is not only hot and spicy but very, very delicious. Now that I am back home in Mumbai, I enjoy the wicket chilies, which are mild and yet so tasty to eat. I am so popular for my inventive chillie cutney recipes that many times, I may meet an acquaintance on the road and she will immediately ask me the recipe of the chutney that she had tasted in my house. Cannot write more about chilies on empty stomach, You.know what I mean?

Want to try this chicken recipe?

Whenever I travel abroad, I always pick up food packets from supermarkets. I like to try new stuff and sometimes I am happy at my new find and sometimes not. This time, from Bangkok, I picked up a packet that said ‘Season’n Fry'. It was 'McCormic' brand and it was a crispy spicy coating for chicken. What is written on the packets says that, for using this stuff, you simply have to empty this content into a plate and dip the chicken pieces in it and deep fry to get a crispy chicken. Nowadays I am avoiding fried stuff therefore I decided to try something innovative. I dipped the chicken pieces into the powder (this powder contains wheat flour, salt, flavor enhancer, spices, egg powder, leavening agent, flavor) coating it evenly from all sides. In a baking tray, I greased the plate with olive oil. Spread the dish in the layers of onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies, tomatoes. Salt, parsley leaves and rosemary leaves. Spread the chicken (that is coated with ‘Season’n Fry’) on it, pour one teaspoon of olive oil on it and bake it for 45 minutes. Oh My God! It was so tasty. Have it with French fries and cucumber salad. Yummy!