Chili plant

I know, it was only a couple of weeks ago that I posted a chili blip, but this plant is of such importance to the Indonesian people that it warrants another blip and I am sure I will be blipping it some more in the future.

I found this plant growing in a pot, on my wall, planted by my security guy, in fact there are several pots of chilies . Unlike the rose, I am pretty sure that this one is real. I won't be harvesting this crop, as I am sure that he planted the chilies for a reason and I am sure it wasn't for me to sprinkle on my cornflakes. To be perfectly honest, I thought that they were just weeds, but I continued to water them and the plastic rose, just on the off chance that I might be wrong. I don't think that there is a botanical classification that labels a group of plants as weeds, they are just a bonus that you were not expecting.

So, what is the big deal about the chili. It is used extensively in Indonesian cooking, I would hazard a guess that at least 90% of dishes contain chili. Back in the UK, you may buy a small pot of chili powder which will collect ten years of dust before you even get close to using it all. I have even heard of people buying too much and the pot gets handed down from generation to generation. Here, Mom will buy a good couple of handfuls for the weeks cooking.

Indonesia is a nation of folk suffering from a severe addiction. Make no mistake, chili is addictive. If the chili crop failed, there would be lost souls aimlessly wandering the streets, dragging their flip-flops through the dusty recesses in the hope of a glimpse of a lost red jewel to revitalize a bowl of noodles. This situation reminds me of Sweden a few years ago, when the government tried to ban snus. The nation forced a referendum vote. People were crying in the streets, waiting for the results. Fortunately the government failed, otherwise there may well have been a civil uprising, I'm actually serious, it was that bad.

I remember the first time I took Tesa, my wife, to England, to meet my family. She was horrified at the blandness of the cuisine. English food can be tasty, but my mother was old school, meat and two veg and boil it to death. After two days, Tesa became extremely irritable and crying for no apparent reason. To me, she was obviously home sick, being her first trip away from home. I tried to comfort her and reassure her that we will be back in Indonesia very soon. She screamed, "I NOT WANT HOME, I WANT CHILI". Fortunately I found an international shop on Dale street, Liverpool, that imported fresh chilies. Phew!

Chili is also an effective weapon in matrimonial warfare. Once, during a particularly turbulent period of our relationship, I came home from work to my favorite dish of stuffed squid. She was being nice and smiling, so I thought that she had forgiven me. The chili effect is like a kick in the orbs, the pain is delayed. I was well into my second mouthful of this delicately spiced dish, when I realized what she had done. With tears streaming down my face and fluid oozing from my nose, I cleared my plate completely as if nothing was wrong. I gave her the plate, commenting, "Nice, did you do something different dear?"

I guess this concludes part two of the chili experience, but I do have more chilling chili stories.

Dave