''Piper chaba'', commonly known as piper chilli, is a flowering vine in the family

Piperaceae The Piperaceae (), also known as the pepper family, are a large family of flowering plants. The group contains roughly 3,600 currently accepted species in 5 genera. The vast majority of species can be found within the two main genera: '' Piper' ...

native to

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. ''P. chaba'' is called chui jhal or choi jhal in the

Khulna Division The Khulna Division ( bn, খুলনা বিভাগ) is the second largest of the eight divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of and a population of 15,563,000 at the 2011 Bangladesh census (preliminary returns). Its headquarters and lar ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

, and the states of

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...

and

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. ''P. chaba'' is found throughout India, and other warmer regions of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

including

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. It is a creeper plant that spreads on the ground. It may also grow around large trees. The leaves are oval-shaped and about long. The flowers are monoecious and blossom during the monsoon. The fruit looks similar to other varieties of

long pepper Long pepper (''Piper longum''), sometimes called Indian long pepper or ''thippali'', is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Long pepper has a taste simi ...

, with an elongated shape that can grow up to long. The fruit is red when ripe, which turns dark brown or black when dry.

Culinary use

People in Bangladesh's south-western districts like

cut down the stem, roots, peel the skin and chop it into small pieces - and cook them with meat and fish, especially with mutton and beef curry. Chuijhal Meat Curry is a very popular dish in Khulna region. The spicy pungent flavor of Choi Jhal is a year-round additive spice. In Thailand, ''P. chaba'' is known commonly as ''dee plee'' and also referred to as "Thai long pepper" and it is consumed both in fresh and dried forms. Ground by mortar and pestle, ''P. chaba'' is an ingredient in a variety of Thai sauces and pastes, and it is added to soups to mute excessively strong fish flavors. In Bangladesh, the stems of the plant are used as a spice in meat and fish dishes. In countries of South and Southeast Asia, the fruit of the Piperaceae vines is well known as a spice and is called the "long pepper". However, in Bangladesh the use of Choi Jhal is unique, because the twigs, stems or roots of ''P. chaba'' – not the fruit – are used as a spice. It is a relatively expensive spice in Bangladesh, and the roots are usually more expensive than the stems because of their stronger aroma. The taste is similar to

horseradish Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and used worldwi ...

Culinary use

Medicinal uses

References

External links