Hi folks,

Not been on for a while as been busy setting up my new food related business. Thought it about time I tried to turn my passion into a living if I can.

Anyway, enough rambling. I love chillies and usually buy the green finger chillies by preference, however I always seem to throw away most of what I buy.

Can anyone recommend how to use these up as I hate waste. I generally use as accompaniment to curry and chopped up in scrambled egg. Any suggestions for preservation or use?

Thanks all,

James.

Hello James

Are these pencil thin, hot chillies or the width of a finger? If latter, you can make them as stuffed chillies. There are a few recipe here for those, both Indian and non-Indian. They can be cooked as an Indian dish, look for Jodhpuri or other stuffed chillies.

If they are the thin, very hot ones, you can make all sorts of pickles and sauces. Again, there are many recipes for those here.

I am like you; an omelette won't be an omelette without sliced green chillies!

Aparna's Chilli Sauce

Steve's Chilli Sauce

there are a few more, just type Chilli +sauce in the search window.

Mamta

Or if you just don't want them to go off then put them in the freezer. I think freezing is the best way to store chillies. They defrost in a minute or two and are easier to chop up when they are frozen. Drying them seems to be an arduous task if you ask me.

I wouldn't dry green chillies, but red chillies can be dried on a newspaper in a warm conservatory or on window sill.

Arduous? Just leave them in a warm dry place. I use the top of a hanging cupboard, and I am currently drying chillies (green and red, though they are all turning red!), tomatoes, red pepper and a lime. Others have included lemons, tangerines and pomegranates.

What about white vinegar? Though i believe it would effect the taste and bite of it. The bottled chillies i have seen in fish and chips shops, what do they store it in??

I love chillies in vinegar

Really!!! i didn't knew this recipe existed in your site as well. Grounded rai seeds and haldi are new additions for me. I think the chillies will last longer in vinegar than in lemon juice??. Kudos to Mamta.

Hello Rajneesh

This is something made in most north Indian houses, perhaps with minor variations. If you do a search for chilli +pickle, you will find a few different chilli pickle recipes, including with ginger/garlic, all very tasty. This mustard/rai and vinegar method, sometimes with oil, is very commonly used to pickle all sorts of seasonal vegetables in north Indian homes. The beauty is that they are ready to eat within a week or two.