The April Chilli Newsletter

G'day

This month's newsletter has a distinctly Australian bias in the content. No ulterior motive here, it's just that the majority of chilli related events I managed to scour from around the world originated in Australia this month.

I'll also take the opportunity to welcome the many new subscribers that have joined as a result of stopping by my stand at the Araluen Chilli Festival. I hope you enjoy the content and find the information as useful as much as everybody else.

OK, let's get into it;

FANTASTIC

Well,CONGRATULATIONS, you've done it ! You have made chillies-down-under.com the top chilli site in Australia.

A Google search on "Chillies Australia" yields the above result.

Yes, we come second in the search, but that is behind the ABC website, who have a slightly larger budget and team than me (i.e. nearly AUD$1 billion and several thousand employees).

For all the overseas subscribers, the ABC is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation - the government run media company, similar to the BBC in Britain.

BUT THERE'S MORE

Also, around the time I noticed this, I also dug around and found that we had just notched up the 500th subscriber to this newsletter.

So, I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you for the support you have given me - it's quite inspirational !

Indian Army Invent The Chilli Bomb

Indian army chiefs are set to deploy a 'curry bomb' to win the war on terror. Weapons development experts have created an eye-watering spice bomb, packed with a potent mix of red chilli and phosphorous which will be used to smoke out militants during counter-insurgency operations.

Scientists from India's Defence Research and Development Organisation have discovered that the spices which make your curry burn can also bring an enemy to his knees in seconds.

They have created an 81mm grenade packed with red hot chilli and phosphorus to use in Kashmir where Islamic separatists linked with al-Qa'eda are fighting a long-running insurgency war.

The searing mix of chilli and phosphorous chokes the enemy's respiratory tract, leaving targets barely able to breathe. Their eyes, throat and skin burn and sting.

Army scientists have also discovered the 'curry bomb' can be used to block enemy attacks by creating a smoke screen and preventing snipers from using night-vision devices and thermal images. After being fired by a grenade launcher, it creates an effective smoke screen ninety metres away within five seconds.

The curry bomb will be used both as a hand grenade by police and armed forces, and as a tank-mounted device.

Experts from India's Defence Research and Development Organisation have already tested their new grenade in a series of raids close to the Line of Control which separates Indian and Pakistani forces in disputed Jammu and Kashmir region.

"The field trials have been completed with success in several areas and along the Line of Control," the military said. "The grenades would be successful in forcing out militants from their hideouts."

If anyone can confirm or deny that this is a true story, I'd be grateful to hear from you. Personally, I'm not convinced yet.

Chillies & Your Health - Pt 1

The autmn edition of Everyday Food magazine contained a food and health section by Australian food writer Judy Davie. The article contained the two below snippets. If anyone tries the first one I'd love to hear if you think it worked or not !

BALDNESS Regularly rubbing deseeded and cut chilli onto the scalp may stimulate cell division and hair regrowth. Failing that, drinking green tea may slow down hair loss.

BRONCHITIS Including chilli, hot mustard, ginger, oregano and rosemary in your diet may help.

I thought I had doubts about the previous story ! Anyway, if you do, I'll feed your thoughts back to Judy if you like !

Gardening In Space

Developed by NASA, AeroGarden allows green-fingered folk to grow micro crops with minimum effort.

The science behind AeroGarden was developed by NASA to provide agriculture in space to support its astronauts, but you can buy this kit now to grow your own mini crops at home. No need for soil, light, pesticides, heavy farming machinery etc - just add water.

AeroGarden uses a nutrient rich solution, a low-energy lamp and a clever processor to recreate an environment similar to that of a rainforest, the ideal growing conditions for most plants.

This means you can grow micro crops of chilli peppers, herbs, salad greens, tomatoes etc in a fraction of the time and with a minimum effort. You often hear farmers grumbling about 5:00am starts, but five minutes per month is the recommended time you need to spend tending your chilli crop for instance, and it'll be ready for harvesting inside of ten weeks.

Budding micro farmers can pick up an AeroGarden from QVC for £119 and be self sufficient for chillies in less than three months. Colonizing a whole space station might take a little longer.

Personally I don't think I'd bother, but I guess it does give you fresh chillies all year instead of being tied to seasons. Also gives you options if you live in an aprtment. As yet I haven't discovered them being available anywhere in Australia.

Chillies & Your Health - Pt 2

Studies are exploring the therapeutic benefits of many herbs and spices, but much is to be learned about their effectiveness and safety especially when taken in large doses and for long periods of time. In some cases, the purported benefits are based on taking a supplement or extract that has a much higher amount of the active ingredient than would be available in food.

While the small amounts of herbs and spices used in the kitchen on an occasional basis won't provide therapeutic levels, regular use offers a wide array of bioactive substances that can have nutritional value.

Benefits may include:

• Providing antioxidants - allspice, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, chilli, oregano, sage, thyme and turmeric powders are high in antioxidants. These plant chemicals may play a role in helping prevent cancer, Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular conditions
• Having cancer-fighting properties -research suggests that antioxidants and other phytochemical substances found in garlic, rosemary, saffron, turmeric and other flavorings may have anti-cancer properties
• Mildly lowering blood sugar - limited evidence indicates that cinnamon, fenugreek and turmeric may mildly affect glucose levels in people with diabetes. Herbs and spices don't replace proven diabetes medications
• Herbs and spices also serve as a salt substitute, making it easy to reduce salt consumption.

What a win-win situation for us - great flavour and health benefits with out any extra effort ! - Nigel

Gold Membership Takes Off

Australian subscribers have received their folder, notes, membership card and this months sauce by now. Overseas subscribers will receive theirs this week, so I'm assured by Australia Post.

This month's sauce under the microscope is Blairs Jalapeno Death with Tequila.

If you are interested in the Gold Membership - Sauce Of The Month Club, all the details and application form are at Gold Membership

Chilli Crime Continues

MUMBAI (formerly Bombay) 7th April

4 throw chilli powder on man, rob Rs4 lakh Four unidentified persons threw chilli powder on a 43-year-old man and his driver and robbed a bag containing Rs4 lakh (AUD$11,000) from him.

The police said the incident occurred on LBS Marg in Vikhroli on Tuesday at 1.45 pm. Vilas Shewale, an accountant of a contractor working for a private company in Vikhroli, had withdrawn money from a bank in Vikhroli and was returning to his home in Kalyan in his Tata Sumo. Police said Shewale had withdrawn the money to pay salaries to his employees.

The robbery occurred hardly 100 metres away from the Parksite police station. Shewale, in his complaint, said he had hardly moved 25 metres from the bank when another vehicle crashed into his.

“Four persons came out of the vehicle and abused his driver Gowardhan Unde, 22, accusing him of negligence. They kept Unde engaged in an altercation. Meanwhile, one of them removed a sachet of chilli powder and threw the powder on Unde and Shewale’s eyes,” said a police officer.

The officer said it was a unique modus operandi as they kept the victims busy in an argument before slyly throwing chilli powder on them and robbing them.

NEW DELHI 10th April

Five unknown assailants fired at an armed security guard and made away with Rs 30 lakh (AUD$81,000) in cash in the Masjid Moth area of South Delhi on Monday.

According to police, a driver and a security guard working with the CMS Security Company were sitting in the company’s vehicle guarding the cash collected from some liquor shops in CR Park. Two collection agents of the Delhi State Industrial Development Corporation, which allots spots for various liquor shops in Delhi, were with them who had gone to another liquor shop to collect money.

“As the driver and the guard waited for the two in the van, four unidentified assailants came in a black Tata Sumo and threw chilli powder in the driver’s eyes,” a senior officer said.

The security guard, Suresh Kumar (46), pulled out his gun and tried to resist as the assailants tried to throw chilli powder in his eyes too, the police said.

A scuffle ensued and one of the assailants took Kumar’s gun and fired a shot. The bullet grazed past Kumar’s shoulder.

The assailants then fled with the cash, the police said.

Amazing.

March's Recipes

Salt & Pepper Squid

makes 4 serves

This is how I cook this seafood classic at home.

• 3 (about 600g) large cleaned squid hoods
• 1L (4 cups) vegetable oil
• 40g (1/4 cup) plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• Lemon wedges and soy sauce with
• sliced fresh red chilli, to serve

Use a sharp knife to cut through 1 side of each squid hood lengthways. Open out flat with inside surface facing up and score surface diagonally. Cut into 3.5cm squares and pat dry with paper towel.

Heat the oil in a large wok over medium heat until it reaches 190°C on a oil thermometer. (Or, add a 5cm cube of bread to the oil - it should turn light golden in 10 seconds.)

Meanwhile, combine the flour, salt, pepper, Chinese five-spice and chilli powderin a medium bowl. Add the squid and toss gently to coat.

Remove half of the squid from the flour mixture and shake off any excess. Add to the oil and cook, turning with a slotted metal spoon, for 2 minutes or until the squid just turns golden and curls.

Use the slotted spoon to transfer the squid to a large plate lined with paper towel to drain. Reheat the oil in the wok to 190°C. Repeat with the remaining squid.

Serve immediately with the lemon wedges and chilli-soy sauce (if you haven't got any, just soak some chopped, hot chillies in the soy sauce for a couple of hours before using) and cold lager.

Stuffed Chilli Bajjis

5 - 8 large green chillies - poblano, Big Jim, etc 1/2 cup Gram flour (chickpea flour - you can substitute with plain flour, but it's not the same) salt to taste 1/2 tsp chilli powder

For stuffing: 1-2 medium sized onions finely chopped 1-2 grated carrots 1/2 tsp chutney - choose your favourite a bunch of finely chopped cilantro Method

Make a batter with gram flour,salt and chilli powder with water.

Heat the oil in wok and then dip the green chilli in the batter, it should be well coated with batter. Then drop in to hot oil carefully, fry till crisp and golden brown.

After removing from oil slit the bhajji in the middle then stuff it with chopped onion grated carrot.

Garnish with coriander (cilantro) leaves and drizzle your favourite chutney over it and serve.

Although a little fiddly, these are great entree or snack when you're looking for something a bit different.

OK, that's it for this month.

It's getting newar the end of the chilli season here in Perth, so I hope all subscribers have enough chillies preserved to see them through the winter months.

Wishing you a life full of flavour

Nigel