[Assam] You ignorant lots! It is Bhot/Bhwot/Vot (read with 3rd IPA vowel sound) an Assamese tribe in the sub-Himalayan region the name of the Chilli comes from. They are NOT derogatory ‘Bhuts or Bhooots’ or even literarily translated ‘Ghosts’.

[Bartta Bistar]

*Assam's 'bhut jolokia' world's hottest chili*

New Delhi, June 18 (PTI): The 'bhut jolokia' or 'ghost chilis' of Tezpur in
Assam figure in the Time magazine's latest issue as the world's hottest
chili.

The magazine's cover story that takes a look at the culinary specialities
and peculiarities around the world has zeroed in on the burnt orange pods,
developed in a military laboratory in Tezpur, as packing the deadliest
punch.

The article 'Global Warming' notes that the 'bhut jolokia', also called the
Naga chili, carries the sort of heat that one normally would find only in
the hottest chili sauces made from pure pepper extract.

Chili heat is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHUs), and while pure
capsaicin, the main capsaicinoid in a chili, measures 16 million SHUs, the
ghost chili measures just over one million SHUs.

A bell pepper typically measures zero, while the spiciest Thai chilies come
in at around one lakh SHUs and most people are reduced to tears by eating
anything around two lakh.

In September, 2000, the Defence Research Laboratory in Tezpur had announced
that it had identified the hottest chili in the world.

Now, the laboratory is contemplating applying for Geographical Indication
Certification to ensure that only 'bhut jolokias' from North-eastern India
are sold as such.

Previously, the hottest chili ever measured was the Red Savina that was
grown by a commercial chili farmer in California, the US, and measured
5,77,000 SHUs.
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