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Hot and spicy

These spicy sauces made with Chillies are great for serving with hot or cold meals. Serve the spicy tomato sauce hot with polenta or cold with buttered bread. The green Habanero sauce is phenomenal with eggs and cold chicken  and  Aji Verde  ( Green Chilli sauce)  just has to tried with Pollo ala brasa.  The peanut satay sauce from Indonesia is great with poultry or pork. To make it more carb friendly, substitute the peanuts with cashew nuts or almonds.

An iconical part of Mexican cooking with Chillies is the making of Moles. The name is from the Nahuatl language of the Aztec/ Mexica “mōlli  “, meaning sauce or mixture.  In modern-day usage, it refers to a broad category of sauces typically eaten with meat, poultry and vegetables (and a lot more).

A Mole usually consists of a  mixture of Chillies, seeds, nuts and vegetables, but may also contain various other ingredients. These ingredients include Mexican chocolate, tomatoes, avocado leaves or raisins.  There are a variety of textures, colours, tastes and consistencies in the various Moles

The Mexican town of  Pueblo is acknowledged as where the first Mole came from, but Oaxaca ( which has many mole recipes) lays claim to the seven moles. These Moles have different colours, including black,  green, red, brown and orange. All are made with a variety of Mexican Chillies, which shouldn't be substituted with other varieties, as the distinct flavour of these Moles is often characterised the types of Chillies used.

While Guacamole shares the name of these sauces, it is not a Mole in the stricter sense of the word. Gaucamole, which is made with mashed avocados, is more of a dip. Moles, on the other hand, tend to be more like pouring sauces or like stews. They are typically served with meat, poultry or vegetables

The seven Moles from Oaxaca are  as follows:

Mole Negro

These Moles are black in colour. They are served with turkey, pork, poultry, or any other light meat  Recipes vary from kitchen to kitchen, but  typically you find  Mole Negros  are made with  dried Mulato, Pasilla and  Chilhuacle negro Chillies  combined with nuts, tomatillos, tomatoes, raisins, Oaxacan chocolate and a variety of spices like cumin, allspice and cinnamon

Mole Verde

This Mole is green in colour and is served poured over chicken or pork. It can also be used in wraps made with tortillas, cold chicken and cheese. Mole Verde is  typically made with Jalapeno chillies, pumpkin seeds, tomatillos, spices, green leaves, epazote and green coriander ( cilantro).

Mole de almendrado

Literally means  Mole with Almonds. This Mole is made with dried Poblano ( Ancho Chillies), blanched almonds, cloves, nuts, chocolate, seeds, spices, raisins and garlic. It is very similar to Mole Negro, but contains blanched almonds as a key ingredient and is red in colour. It is served with roast pork and chicken

Colorado Mole

Sometimes also called the Rojo Mole, this Mole is red in colour. It contains the same ingredients as the Moles Negor, but rather than using black chillies, red Chilhuacle chillies are used. It is served with poultry

Mole Amarillo

Translated, this means yellow Mole, but in reality, it is more orange in colour. It is served with either pork, chicken, beef or vegetables and has soup/ stew consistency. The Chillies  used in this Mole can be Chilhuacle, Amarillo, Anchos, Guajillo, Chile, Costeño , or Chile Chilcostle. These are combined with tomatoes, tomatillos, with spices like cumin, black pepper and cloves. It also contains garlic and oregano. It is thickened with yellow masa (maize dough).

Mole Coloradito

This means little red Mole in Spanish. This Mole is lighter than the Colorada Mole, because it contains fewer ingredients. It is typically made with dried Guajillo chillies, seeds, nuts, spices, tomatoes, onions and Mexican herbs. It is served with duck, poultry and pork

Mole Manchamanteles

The name for this Mole is translated as “ Table cloth stainer”. It is a fruity mole made with any seasonal fruit, including apricots and peaches combined with pears, apples and pineapples. Other ingredients are nuts, onions, garlic, spices, tomatoes, and Ancho Chillies. It is dark red in colour and is served with chicken and pork

Mole chichilo

This Mole is similar to Colorado and Coloridito, but uses darkened Chillies. It is gravy like and is brown in colour. It contains Chichilo, Mulatto and Passila Chillies with beans, tomatoes, onion and garlic. It can be served with a variety of meats, but as a special occasion dish, it is served  with beef fillet

In conclusion

The making of Moles is a typical use of  Chillies in Mexican cooking. Recipes for  Moles can all differ, with different ingredients being used or excluded. Mole making is, after all, an art rather than a science. One they all contain, though, is, of course, the  Chillies

More reading. Chillies in Mexican cooking

Nothing adds flavour faster to favourite foods than Chilli spice rubs, flakes and powders. Be it adding a rub to your ribs before barbequing, sprinkling chilli flakes on your pizza or adding colour and flavour to a curry; ground Chillies take the top spot.

In this section, learn how to make your own Chilli rubs, flakes and powders. All it takes is some dried Chillies (homegrown or bought), a grinder, a bit of imagination, and you are on your way to some exciting flavour discoveries. Happy grinding!

All Chillies can potentially used to make Chilli Powders and flakes. Some Chillies, however, because of their unique qualities in terms of taste, colour or heat, may be a better choice for making these products.  Kashmiri Chillies for example are known for their ability to impart a red colour and heat to a dish, and Chipotlas for the smoky earthy character they lend to food.

Drying Chillies that you have grown yourself to make the best Chilli powders, flakes and rubs is the ideal. To get a really good result, you are looking to dry Chillies at the peak of their ripeness, rather than simply using the last of your homegrown crop.   The intention should be to make your powders, flakes and rubs from the very best Chillies you can get your hands on. The end result will be worth it.

Bear in mind that all making powders or flakes requires is to grind dried Chilles to the desired level of fineness or coarseness ( as the requirement may be). They are not mixed with other spices as with rubs  , so the one ingredient you are using should be the very best.  Dehydrating Chillies concentrates their flavour) and grinding them allows the final product to mix more readily with other ingredients. This provides a more intense depth of flavour.

For flakes and powders

The following Chilies provide special qualities for making Chilli  powders and flakes

Mild and medium Chillies

These are the everyday Chillies that you would use in the kitchen. While Cayenne Chillies are a healthy 30000 to 50000 SHU, unless you use an exceptionally large amount, they will do nothing more than add a pleasant bite to your spicy dishes. The type of pungency that most people can take without breaking into excessive sweating

Mild Chillies, on the other hand, are definitely there for flavour and colour (with just a hint of heat). The Kashmiri and Pasilla Chillies provide a distinctive taste and add colour – bright red in the case of Kashmiri chillies and black for Passilas. Similarly, Anchos provide a smoky flavour and a blackish colour

Medium and Mild Chillies can be used together to provide different characteristics to a dish. For example, in making a dip, one can give piquancy and the other decoration. A dip like Spicy prawn dip  illustrates this brilliantly. In this dish, Chilli powder may be used for flavouring, and Chilli flakes are used for decoration.

Aleppo Chilies

This makes powder and flakes with a moderate heat level of about 10000 SHU. It has a mild cumin-like flavour with raisin-like fruity notes. Used to make dishes like Hunkar Begendi and as a general seasoning. Genuine Aleppo Chillies may be difficult to get hold of, but if you can find them, the effort will be worth it.

Ancho ( dried Poblanos).

This mild Chilli has a sweet chocolate-like flavour. It is used in Mexican cooking to make sauces and stews. It is also sprinkled over meat, or used as a general seasoning. They have a Scoville rating of 1000 to 2000 SHU

Chipotles ( smoked Jalapenos)

These smoke-dried Chillies give dishes a mild, earthy and smoky flavour. Chipotle powders and flakes are typically used in Chilli con carne or in stews. They can also be used to season snacks, eggs, and as an ingredient in a BBQ sauce.  Their Scoville heat rating is between 5000 and 8000

Cayenne Chillies

Provides medium to spicy heat. For use in curries, Chilis  and spicy stews. Excellent as a ground Chilli flake for general seasoning of vegetables, eggs, etc. These Chillies have a SHU rating of 30000 to 50000 SHU

Hot Chillies

These are at the top end of the heat scale when it comes to regular eating Chillies.  The reasons for wanting to turn them into flakes and rubs are very much as above, but  another advantage is definitely the added flavour that they can bring to dishes.

This flavour dimension is well illustrated in the use of Scotch Bonnets in Jamaican cooking, the Portuguese use of Piri-Piri and Malagueta Chillies, and that many dishes get their distinctive flavour from Habaneros.

Grinding these Chillies means they can be used to combine with fresh Chillies to concentrate the flavour of homemade hot sauces and Chilli oils. The most crucial use, though, is being able to add that dash of flavour and spiciness to your dish just when you need it.

Exercise caution when working with these Chillies

Habanero

These Chilli powders are used as the base in Moles, Chilis and hot sauces in Mexican cooking. They have a sweet, fruity flavour that goes well with tomato bases.  The Habanero Chilli has a  Scoville rating  similar to the SHU rating to that of the Scotch bonnet (with which it is often confused)

Scotch Bonnet

Hot Chili from the Caribbean with a Scoville rating of between 100000 and 400000 SHU. It has a fruity and sweet taste. Powders and flakes from these Chillies are extensively used in West Indian cooking, and generally in spicy cuisine at the upper end of everyday pungency level. It can be used to make curries and gives dishes like Jamaican Jerk Chicken its distinct taste

Peri-Peri

A fiery Bird's-Eye Chilli from Africa. It has a sharp bite and adds great flavour as a general seasoning for spicy stews,  barbecued meats and poultry. This seasoning is not for the faint-hearted, with a SHU of up to 175000 SHU

The Super Hots

One might ask - why make Chill flakes and powders with Super Hot Chillies. Aren’t they just too hot to eat? Fair question, but there are reasons to use them

Firstly, using fresh Super Hots can be wasteful. As an example, the Seven Pot Douglah gets its name because one Chilli is hot enough to spice seven pots. How many of us make seven pots of anything?  So what happens is that only a bit of the Chilli gets used and rest either frozen or binned.

Another reason is that handling fresh Super Hots is uncomfortable (or should I say, somewhat dangerous).) So, if you are going to handle them, minimise the risk by going through the danger once - in drying and grinding them (suitably equipped, of course) once. You will then have a ready supply on hand to use when you need them (still exercising caution though) for many cooking sessions.

A note of caution. When preparing these Chillies for drying or grinding, make sure you have the right equipment. Wear long sleeves, gloves and eye goggles. Avoid touching exposed parts of the body after handling them. Once you have finished, make sure you wash everything in contact with Chillies well.

Carolina Reaper.

The Carolina Reaper is officially the world's hottest Chilli, so extreme caution needs to be taken when making powders and rubs with it. Eye goggles and gloves should be the order of the day. It can be used as a general seasoning when used in moderation, like scrambled eggs, and in hot curries like Vindaloo and Phall.  Its taste is described as fruity followed by extreme heat. Its Scoville rating is 1500000 SHU. Be very careful with this Chilli!

Bhut Jolokia ( Ghost pepper)

Another Chilli falls into the superhot category, where caution is advised when preparing powders and flakes. The Ghost pepper  can be used as a general seasoning in sauces, curries, spicy stews, chutneys, and pickle. These powders and flakes have a SHU of about 1000000 SHU. Be careful with this Chilli!

For Rubs

Rubs are generally a blend of Chillies, spices, salt, sugar, onion and garlic powder. Here you are looking to find a Chilli that best combines with these other ingredients to provide the best possible end product.  Paprika, Cayenne, Scotch bonnet, Habanero and Peri Peri Chillies are all excellent choices for making rubs. They may be used on their own or combined with paprika and sometimes even Kashmiri Chillies for additional flavour and to provide colour

In conclusion

As a general rule, Chilli powders are single-ingredient products and rub multi-ingredient. It should be noted that a Chile powder may not be considered a single ingredient product in some parts of the USA. As a simple Chile powder, it could consist of Chillies and spices, while an Ancho Chilli powder, for example, would be understood to be just made with Anchos. Similarly, a distinction needs to be made between Chilli powders made with Cayenne Chillies (generally long and slim) and Cayenne powder. Cayenne powder, while sharing the same name, is actually typically made with Birds-eye Chillies [Source: Wikipedia]

Enjoy making your  Chilli rubs , flakes and powders