It’s spicier than your girlfriend’s tongue-lashing against your ex.
And it brings you down on your knees faster than you can say “Oh lord”!
And it certainly gets your heart racing so hard that you can’t breathe.
It’s also red. It’s hot in your mouth. And its size says nothing about how it will make you feel.
Meet Raja Mirchi, that comes to us all the way from North East India.
It is also known as bhut jolokia, ghost chili, umorok, and ghost pepper.
And it is the baddest chili in the whole damn town. No kidding.
It is so bad ass that it can bring even the wisest of them to their knees.
Exhibit A.
Did I say wise?
So, how hot are we talking?
On the Scoville scale, which helps measure the ‘hotness’ of chili peppers, this bad baby comes up to over 1,041,427 SHUs. Lets add some perspective here: the tabasco red pepper sauce that you so heartily add to your noodles rates at around 5000–10,000. In 2007, Guinness World Records certified that the Ghost pepper was the world’s hottest chili pepper at that time.
And speaking of world records, meet Kevin Strahle, the dauntless man who claimed the Guinness World Record last month for the most bhut jolokia chilies eaten in 2 minutes.
It’s so hot that it’s used to develop fiery hand grenades and tear gas by the Indian Defense wing!
Yes, it turns out, this wrathful little thing isn’t just used as a spice in curries, pickles and chutneys. It is also used to develop fiery hand grenades and tear gas by the Indian Defense wing to not only control rioters but also for counter-insurgency operations. That is a long way from when farmers used the dried form of this chili to ward off animals from their lands. Talk about potency!
In the northeast, bhut jolokia is used to cure stomach ailments and funnily enough, it is also used to beat the crippling summer heat. You see, eating spicy food raises your blood circulation, and you start sweating profusely. Once the moisture evaporates, you realize that you’ve cooled off.
And if you want a go, they’re available online!
A tryst with this little bomb doesn’t require you to go all the way to Assam for it. You can order some from Amazon. (Is there ANYTHING we CAN’T get online!?)
Go on, make some ghost pepper sauce, or fire up your salsa dip. Cook up some sizzling, burn-your-insides, yummy ghost pepper chicken wings.
Oh, and best of luck pooping the next day.