Lal mirch (red chilli)

Also written: red chilli, laal mirch, whole red chilli, chilli powder

  • Urduلال مرچ
  • Hindiलाल मिर्च

Lal mirch is red chilli, and in a recipe it can mean two quite different things. Red chilli powder is the ground dried chilli, which dissolves into the dish. Whole dried red chillies, often written sabut lal mirch, are fried in fat to flavour it and are usually left on the plate.

The whole pods belong in a tadka. Our Dal Tadka fries garlic and whole red chillies for about two minutes, and Aloo ki Bhujia sizzles whole red chillies with cumin, nigella, fennel and fenugreek for 30 seconds. Powder goes in later: Dal Tadka adds red chilli powder with the tomato and cooks it for 3 minutes, and Pakoray mixes it straight into the gram flour batter.

Powder burns quickly, which turns it bitter, so keep it away from dry hot oil. Add it after the onion or tomato has released some moisture, or loosen it with a splash of water first. Whole pods darken within seconds, so watch them and move on when they turn a shade deeper.

Brands differ in heat and colour. Kashmiri chilli powder, which Rogan Josh and Dum Aloo call for, is known for colour more than burn, so it is not a like-for-like swap for plain hot powder.

Recipes that use it

96 of our 247 recipes call for lal mirch (red chilli) or a closely related ingredient. Here are a few to start with.

Related terms

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