These small, tapered red or green chillies are extremely pungent and very, very hot! Although they're sometimes called Thai chillies, they're Mexican in origin. They're often used in Chinese and South-east Asian cooking.

They are extensively grown and used in the Indian subcontinent. They are locally known as GANDHARI. It is a wild form of chilli, whose small fruits are dispersed by birds. All small highly pungent chillies

belong to Capsicum frutescens.

Unlike other chillies, these chillies are rich in B carotene (Pro-Vitamin A), ascorbic acid and tocopherol (Vitamin E).

Gandhari plants are much branched, growing to a height of four feet or more with a productive life of two or three years. The flowers are usually greenish with two or three upward pedicels.

Fruits are upright until maturity, thus appearing above the foliage. The plants thrive well where temperature is around 22-28 degrees Celsius. Soil should be rich in organic matter and acidic to strongly acidic in nature (pH 4.5 to 5.0).

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