Topic: How much deggi mirch

[london]

After reading about deggi mirch I'm going to Brick Lane which is just down the road from me to buy some, can anyone please tell me how much to use when a recipe calls for a teaspoon of chilli powder.

Thank in advance for you help,
London.

[Peripatetic Phil]

After reading about deggi mirch I'm going to Brick Lane which is just down the road from me to buy some, can anyone please tell me how much to use when a recipe calls for a teaspoon of chilli powder.

A teaspoon. Deggi mirch /is/ chilli powder, just a special variety thereof.
** Phil.

[Invisible Mike]

Personally I find it a little bit more mellow than standard chilli and have to use a bit more than normal to suit my taste. Of course, different batches may well differ so it's a case of trial and error.

[Adeypayne]

Concur. Deggi mirch is normally Kashmiri chilli powder, and as stated is rather mellow (in a nice way) to std chilli powder. Personally I would go for 1 1/2 x but as advised, test it out

[Invisible Mike]

Having made a curry with it Thursday it is probably even milder than I first thought. You could probably double up on the one I've got. It's a nice ingredient though I've found, particularly if flavour is your thing as opposed to heat.

[livo]

Just bought my first box of this.  I've been meaning to try it for years.  I believe it is a blend and not a pure variety of chilli.  This is from the description; 

"MDH is a famous quality brand of India. Deggi mirch is used as a chilli powder for curries, bbq and other homemade dishes. It gives bright red color and taste to your home cooked dishes. It is slightly hotter than paprika but is used more to add color and taste than heat to dishes."

Now, my problem is that I already have what is supposedly Kashmiri Chilli Powder, which in my opinion is neither ultra mild nor colourful.  I very much doubt it is what it is supposed to be, but that is a whole different matter. I also have Indian Paprika which is not without any heat, as is plain supermarket / Hungarian paprika.  I spoke to an Indian Chef once who said KCP and Paprika are the same thing in his kitchen and I would say that the two products I have are pretty much the same thing.  I do have Hungarian Paprika (plain and smoked) which is a zero in the heat scale.

I also have plain Red Chilli Powder which is hotter than both of the above and then I have Hot Chilli Powder which I never normally use for family dishes.  It is hot.

So, I'm asking anybody who's used this product before, forgetting about the extremes being the likes Naga, Ghost and Scorpions etc, how does MDH Deggi Mirch fit into your heat scale?  Assume that plain Hungarian Paprika is a 0, KCP / Indian Paprika is a 3, Red Chilli Powder is a 6 and Hot Chilli Powder is a 10, where would MDH Deggi Mirch fit?  When they say slightly hotter than paprika, are they referring to Hungarian or Indian?

[Peripatetic Phil]

So, I'm asking anybody who's used this product before, how does MDH Deggi Mirch fit into your heat scale?  Assume that plain Hungarian Paprika is a 0, KCP / Indian Paprika is a 3, Red Chilli Powder is a 6 and Hot Chilli Powder is a 10, where would MDH Deggi Mirch fit?  When they say slightly hotter than paprika, are they referring to Hungarian or Indian?

I use both MDH Kashmiri mirch (for colour) and MDH degghi mirch (for heat). Somewhere in the range 4–6 on your scale, since generic "red chilli powder" could really have any value.
--
** Phil.

[livo]

Thanks Phil.  I'll be cooking today and tomorrow for visitors on Saturday, so I'll use it accordingly.  I'll do a single serve sampler to be sure.

I just looked through my cupboards and found I have a box of the MDH Kashmiri Chilli Powder as well. I'd forgotten that I bought it.

[Peripatetic Phil]

I should perhaps clarify that when I say "Kashmiri for colour, degghi for heat" I am not talking about vindaloo/tindaloo/phal heat, merely Madras.  Unless you went really crazy, I don't think you'd achieve phal heat with degghi mirch alone ...