Cooking with Chillies

The versatile chilli pepper, fresh, dried, pounded, powdered, pickled or flaked, is an indispensable ingredient in the cooking of most tropical and subtropical countries. Around the world chillies are fried, simmered, blended with local herbs and spices, fruits and vegetables, and served with traditional staple cereals. This results in an abundance of tastes, ranging from the fragrant cooking of South-East Asia and racy stir-fried dishes of Sichuan through highly spiced Indian curries, chilli and peanut sauces from West Africa to the spiced tomato dishes of South America, Mexican tacos liberally doused in chilli, and the fiery bean dishes of the southern United States. This is a sampler of chilli dishes, offering an insight into many national cuisines, and a culinary and historical exploration of the links that connect one with the other.