Chilli peppers are a staple in Asian cuisine, coming in various forms such as fresh, dried, green, red, and more. It’s such an integral spice to our cuisine, that one can be forgiven for thinking that is native to our land.
Christopher Columbus was the first European to taste chilli peppers when, in 1492, he embarked on a journey from Spain to India in pursuit of the subcontinent. This event occurred over 451 years ago. Chillies in fact originated from South America.
When the Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama landed in Calcutta in 1498, he brought ships with black pepper and other spices, which were then sold at a reasonable price to consumers.
According to historian Lizzie Collingham, "It is not known exactly when chillies arrived on the Malabar coast, but thirty years after Vasco De Gama set foot on Indian soil, there were at least three different types of chilli plants growing around Goa."
The climate, environment, and economic position all suited the use of chillie, and cultivating it was also cheaper than producing pepper. South Asia and the Indian subcontinent made the most valuable use of it.
The pungent nature of chillies, in addition to being one of the most inexpensive spices after Columbus's discovery, contributed to their rise to prominence as the most widely used spice. This made them accessible to households with lower incomes and encouraged their use as the primary flavouring component.
So what did we spice our food with before chilis arrived? The humble peppercorn. People in the Indian Subcontinent have been using black pepper, to deliver heat, and also add a varied flavour profile.
Today, according to the author Shirin Mehrorta, chilies have also formed an integral component of the cultural artefacts of the Indian subcontinent. This is evidenced by the fact that there are songs and idiomatic expressions that are based on chillies.
Chilies may not have been nature's gift to South Asia, but we sure knew how to make it our own, in more ways than one. The Indian subcontinent and South Asia are synonymous with chilies for a good reason.
