A variety of chilli known as "Nagahari" grown in Tezpur in north-east India has earned the distinction of being the world’s hottest. Common varieties like Jalapeno or the Italian Peperoncino generally have below 5,000 Scoville Heat unit (SHU), which is a unit for measuring the hotness of chilli. The hot flavour of chillies is due to the presence of compound known as Capsaicin. The hottest chilli known today, Red Savina Habanero, measures 5,77,000 SHUs. While the Tezpur chilli, "Nagahari" have a value of 8,55,000 SHUs. |