Chilli recipes

View our spectacular collection of chilli recipes, including Paul Ainsworth's chicken chilli pasta, Alfred Prasad's peshwari kebab and Robert Thompson's chilli and chocolate tart

Chilli is a spice without limits. It begins with variety, of which there are hundreds, from the humble jalapeno to the potent habanera, all with colours and heat levels as diverse as their species. Furthermore, chillis can be bought in a multitude of form factors: fresh or dried, ground or in flakes, smoked or pickled. It's no surprise then that a plant with such a range has an equal range of culinary uses.

From the Mexican serrano pepper to the Thai red chilli, fresh chillis are used in recipes worldwide. Common in Asian recipes, you can find fresh chillis in Geoffrey Smeddle's seared mackerel recipe with chilli, spring onion and coriander, and in Marcello Tully's Thai fish cakes recipe. Or, looking towards the Mediterranean, we find the classic spicy tomato arrabiata sauce, served with Paul Ainsworth's Sicilian arancini.



Dried chillis are as useful as fresh and can be purchased whole, ground or in flakes. Ground chilli powder is more about adding heat than flavour, which makes it hugely versatile. It's a mainstay in Indian recipes, for example, Alfred Prasad's lentil dahl recipe and Vineet Bhatia's spicy South Indian crab cakes. But you can also add chilli powder or chilli flakes to virtually any dish that would benefit from a kick: sprinkle it on pizzas, add it to sauces, or use it in stir fries. Chilli powder also combines extremely well with chocolate - try adding 1/2 tsp to a chocolate cake recipe for a little warmth and extra dimension.

Be aware that some "chilli powder" contains a mix of other ingredients such as coriander and cumin. This chilli powder is a common ingredient in American cuisine where it's used to season chilli con carne.

Different chilli powders can vary in heat depending on the type of chilli used to make the powder, so it's always best to start with a little bit of chilli powder first, then taste and add more to suit your preferred level of heat.