The Naga Morich is a

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

originally grown primarily in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

. It is also one of the hottest known chilli peppers and measures 800,000 SHU on Scoville scale. is the word for chilli pepper in Bengali (. (, ), Nepali,

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

() and the languages of

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

and

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

. "Naga Mircha" is registered under the

Geographical Indications A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town or region). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, is inten ...

(GI) of

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Plant characteristics

The Naga Morich is a small-medium shrub with large leaves, small, five-petaled flowers, and blisteringly hot fruit. It differs from the

Bhut Jolokia The ghost pepper, also known as ''bhut jolokia'' ( or 'Ghost pepper' in Assamese language, Assamese), is an interspecific hybrid chili pepper cultivated in Northeast India. It is a hybrid of ''Capsicum chinense'' and ''Capsicum frutescens''. In ...

and Bih Jolokia in that it is slightly smaller with a pimply ribbed texture as opposed to the smoother flesh of the other two varieties.

Distribution

The Naga is a species found in

and

Northeastern India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, M ...

, more specifically in

and

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

. They are also grown in the United States,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(as subspecies Dorset Naga) and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

for the production of

hot sauce Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa (sauce), salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of Mass production, mass-produced hot sauce exist. History Humans have used chili peppers and other ho ...

s, and in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, where it is mainly sold fresh in supermarkets. An American breeder Ed Currie used the Naga Morich to create the hybrid

Carolina Reaper The Carolina Reaper chili pepper is a cultivar of the ''Capsicum chinense'' plant. Developed by American breeder Ed Currie, the pepper is red and gnarled, with a bumpy texture and small pointed tail. It was the hottest chili pepper in the worl ...

chili pepper cultivar in the race to grow the hottest chili pepper.

Culinary usage

The Naga Morich chili is extremely hot, but has a flavor that is quite unique. Like the Bhut Jolokia, it has a sweet and slightly tart flavor, followed by slight undertones of woody, smoky flavors. The chili is well suited for barbeque and grilling due to its unique spice flavor.

References

{{Chili peppers Capsicum cultivars Chili peppers Flora of Assam (region) Geographical indications in Nagaland Medicinal plants of Asia

Plant characteristics

Distribution

Culinary usage

See also

References