Famous chili

The famous chili is back in news. This time it’s not for bringing tears in your eyes or for burning your tongue, but for its health benefits.

We had long known chili to be Rich in Vitamin A & C ( Did you know that chilies have more vitamin C per gram than Orange ?). Another astonishing fact about chili is that it’s rich in beta carotene too. The best know benefit of chilies is its ability to reduce pain. Eating chilies will aid release of endorphins which in turn reduces pain.

The famous chili is back in news for another good reason- “ Eating chili will help in weight loss.”

Dr. K. D. Ahuja and Dr.M. J. Ball of the University of Tasmania (Australia) found that a “freshly chopped chili” eaten daily slowed the oxidation of cholesterol even more effectively than taking vitamin E and antioxidant supplements. The same team, along with Dr. I. K. Robertson and Dr. D. P. Geraghty, also found that consuming chilies for a month lowered resting heart rate in men.

This week, there came further evidence that chilies indeed aid fat loss. Scientists are reporting that the compound capsaicin (found in chilies), helps in weight loss by triggering certain protein changes in the body. The lab experiments were done on rats by feeding them fatty food & fatty food with chilies. Rats on a diet of fatty food with chilies lost an astounding 8% body fat ! Click here to read the complete details of this research

No article on Chili can be complete without a recipe. So here is my famous Chili salsa recipe:

Recipe of chili salsa:

Ingredients:  1 red capsicum, 1 green capsicum, 1 cucumber, 4 tomatoes, 4-5 spring onions or 1 medium onion, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, juice of 1 lemon, 2 tsp of red vinegar, 1 bunch coriander & 1 bunch of mint leaves.

Method :

Char the capsicum over flame & remove skin & seeds.

Blanch tomatoes to remove skin.

Remove the skin & seeds from cucumber.

Roughly chop the other vegetables & herbs.

Blend all the ingredients in a blender. ( you can chop them fine too.. I prefer blended)

Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Now enjoy this salsa with pack of favorite wafers or bread.

Chili lovers can click here to discover the book “600 Chili Recipes for Chili Lovers.”