Two of the best-known chillies in India grow in the Northeast. King Chilli, or Bhut Jolokia, comes from Nagaland, Assam and Manipur. Dalle Khursani is the round red chilli of Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills. Both are hot, but they differ in heat, flavour and how they are eaten. This post compares them.
King Chilli (Bhut Jolokia)
King Chilli has many local names. It is called Bhut Jolokia in Assam, Raja Mircha or Naga Mircha in Nagaland, and Umorok in Manipur. Outside India it is often sold as the ghost pepper. It belongs to the species Capsicum chinense, with some Capsicum frutescens in its ancestry.
The pods are long, thin-skinned and wrinkled, about 6 to 8.5 cm in length, and ripen to red. Tests at New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute measured it at 1,001,304 Scoville heat units. In 2007 Guinness World Records listed it as the hottest chilli in the world. Other chillies have since passed it, among them the Carolina Reaper in 2013. Naga Mircha received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Nagaland in 2008.
The first taste is fruity. The heat arrives a few seconds later, builds and lasts for several minutes. In Nagaland it is cooked with pork, smoked meat and bamboo shoot, and it is made into chutneys and pickles.
Dalle Khursani
Dalle means round in Nepali, and the chilli is about the size of a cherry. It is also called Akbare. It is a variety of Capsicum annuum, the same species as most Indian chillies. Published measurements place it between about 100,000 and 350,000 Scoville heat units. That is well below King Chilli and well above an ordinary green chilli.
Dalle Khursani received a GI tag for Sikkim in 2020, and in 2021 the tag was extended to the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal. It is also grown in Nepal and Bhutan.
Its heat is sharp and quick, and it fades faster than King Chilli. In Sikkim it is eaten whole beside dal and rice, ground into chutneys and momo sauce, and pickled as dalle achar.
The two side by side
| King Chilli | Dalle Khursani | |
|---|---|---|
| Main growing areas | Nagaland, Assam, Manipur | Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Nepal, Bhutan |
| Species | Capsicum chinense (hybrid) | Capsicum annuum |
| Shape | Long and wrinkled | Small and round |
| Measured heat | About 1,000,000 SHU | About 100,000 to 350,000 SHU |
| GI tag | 2008 (Nagaland) | 2020 (Sikkim), extended 2021 |
| How the heat feels | Slow to start, builds and lingers | Sharp and immediate, fades sooner |
Which to use
For a curry or a pot of meat, a small amount of King Chilli adds heat to the whole dish. Dalle suits food where the chilli is eaten on its own, with each bite of rice or alongside momos and thukpa. If you are not used to very hot food, start with Dalle. For practical tips, see how to eat King Chilli pickle.
Our jars
NE Origins sells King Chilli Pickle from Nagaland and several Dalle products from Sikkim: the whole Dalle Chilli Pickle, Dalle Chilli in Vinegar and Dalle Chilli Pure Paste. The Chilli Sampler Box has King Chilli Pickle and Dalle Chilli in Vinegar together. For a fuller list, see our guide to choosing a first jar, and for more on Dalle, read Dalle Khursani (Akbare): Sikkim’s Round Chilli.
Sources: Wikipedia entries for Ghost pepper, Naga Mircha and Dalle Khursani.
