Sylheti Mangsha Chilli

Sylheti mangsha chilli is a Sylhet specialty, mutton curry cooked with an extraordinary quantity of green chilies, the defining characteristic being the extreme heat. Sylhet, in the hills of northeastern Bangladesh, has its own indigenous chili varieties that are among the hottest in South Asia, and the dish celebrates this: 15 to 20 green chilies are used per kilogram of meat, the chilies split and cooked whole in the gravy, releasing their heat into the thin, brothy curry. The mutton is simmered until tender in a base of mustard oil, ginger, garlic and minimal spice, letting the chili dominate. Eaten with plain rice, the dish is for those who love heat; for others, it is nearly inedible. It is a home dish, made in Sylheti households, rarely found in restaurants.

Intensely, almost painfully hot, the thin gravy searing the palate, the mutton tender beneath, each green chili a bomb of heat. Eaten with plenty of rice and yogurt to temper the fire.

The technique is a simple braise with an extreme quantity of green chilies. Mutton pieces are browned in mustard oil with ginger-garlic paste and turmeric. Water is added and the meat simmered 45 minutes until nearly tender. Then 15 to 20 green chilies (the hotter the better, ideally Sylhet's local variety) are slit lengthwise and added whole, along with salt, and the curry simmered another 15 minutes. The chilies cook but do not break down, releasing their capsaicin into the thin gravy. The gravy remains thin and watery (not thickened), the better to soak into rice. No onions or tomatoes; the heat and the mutton are the only flavours.