Drying Green Chillies. Everything You Need To Know About Preserving Your Green Chillies

The process we are going to use here for drying green chillies is one that has been used in Mexico for a very long time. It is occasionally called pasado which in Spanish simply means 'of the past'.

Step 1 - Select the fruit you want to preserve, put a hole or two in them with a skewer, and roast them over an open BBQ or under a griller until they blister and start to go black. Turn them a few times so that this occurs all over the fruit.

Step 2 - Once they're done, place them in a plastic bag, close it, and allow them to sweat for 20-30 minutes

Step 3 - Remove the fruit from the bag and carefully peel off the skin. Note: if you live in an arid environment and plan to dry the chillies outside, leave the stems attached to the fruit. If you plan to dry them in a dehydrator, you are better off removing the stem, seeds, and pith and cutting the chillies into strips.

Step 4 - If drying outside, simply tie three or four chillies together at the stem with some string or fishing line and hang outside over a clothesline or something similar where they won't get wet. Tying something like muslin or cheesecloth around them will keep the flies off. Dry them until brittle(3-6 days). Alternatively, put the strips in the dehydrator and dry until brittle. See drying with a dehydrator for details on drying times.

Note: drying green chillies will turn them a fairly discouraging black colour while they are drying. This is not a problem - it's normal - don't panic. Most of the green will return later when they are rehydrated.

Step 5 - OK, once they're dried, all you need to do is store them. You can simply keep them in a dry, airtight container. However, the best results are obtained if you double bag them and store them in the freezer.

Step 6 - Use your dried chillies. You have two main options here.

First, you can grind the chillies to flakes or powder when required. Use a coffee grinder, food processor, or mortar and pestle to grind them down to the size that you're after. CAUTION - take care not to get chilli powder in your eyes or lungs !

Secondly, they can he rehydrated by simply soaking it hot water for 10 minutes. They are then ready for use.

At this point you are ready to start trying out some chilli recipes or some barbecuing.