Bird's eye chili or "Thai chili" (Thai: พริกขี้หนู, RTGS: phrik khi nu, literal: Mouse/rat dropping chili; Indonesian: Cabai rawit; Malay: Cili api or Cili padi) is a chili pepper, a cultivar from the species Capsicum annuum, commonly found in Southeast Asia. It is often confused with a similar-looking chile derived from the species Capsicum frutescens, the cultivar 'siling labuyo'. Bird's eye chili can also be found in India, in Meghalaya & in Kerela it is used in traditional dishes of the Kerala cuisine (pronounced in Malayalam as kanthari mulagu Malayalam: കാന്താരി മുളക്). The Garos of Meghalaya called it Jal·ik Meseki (where jal·ik = chili; meseki=mouse dropping). This cultivar (known as කොච්චි (kochchi) in sinhalese) is also found in rural areas of Sri Lanka, where it is used as a substitute for green chillies. It is also a main ingredient in kochchi sambal, a salad made using freshly scraped coconut ground with thai chillies and seasoned with salt and lime juice.
Read more about Bird's Eye Chili: Origins
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