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
Famous quotes containing the words bird and/or eye:
“Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.”
—Bible: Hebrew Ecclesiastes 10:20.
“His eye begets occasion for his wit,
For every object that the one doth catch
The other turns to a mirth-moving jest.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)