Knowing all about chili peppers is crucial if you want to ensure that you can use all sorts of ingredients in your cooking. If you are unable to tell the Dorset Naga from a Bell pepper, then you could be in some serious culinary trouble!
Therefore, it is important that you read pieces like this not only to expand your own knowledge but to ensure that your cooking is not simply good but has the kind of exquisite flair that all truly astonishing cook’s work should have.
So read on and find out all you need to know about one of the hottest but one of the tastiest chili peppers out there – the Dorset Naga
What Is The Dorset Naga?
To begin with, it is important to trace the origin of the Dorset Naga. The Dorset Naga is a subspecies of the Naga Morich chili pepper, one of the hottest peppers to have emerged from the world.
The Dorset Naga was first grown in Dorset, England and was intended to take the intense heat of the Naga Morich and make an even hotter chili pepper!
And the intention succeeded as the Dorset Naga is one of the hottest chili peppers out there. In terms of heat, according to the Scoville Heat Unit register, the official register for judging something’s heat, the Dorset Naga scores between about 800,000 and 1,600,000 which as you can imagine is pretty hot!
However, to the untrained eye the Dorset Naga might not look like much. Indeed, if you just took a quick look at it, you wouldn’t think it was one of the hottest chili peppers out there.
With its fruity aroma, small size – it measures between about 4 to 5cm), and its demure almost strawberry like appearance, the Dorset Naga certainly doesn’t look like one of the hottest chili peppers on the market – however it is.
Now that we’ve explained exactly what a Dorset Naga is, let’s explain exactly how the Dorset Naga can be used in cooking.
The Best Way To Use A Dorset Naga In Your Cooking
Now that we’ve explained what a Dorset Naga looks like, where it comes from and how hot it can get, let’s take a moment to make clear – despite its intense heat you can still use the Dorset Naga in your cooking without having to fear that the heat will be too strong or that it will be too intense for the rest of your dish.
Indeed, the intensity of the heat and taste of the Dorset Naga is one of the reasons that it has become so popular with so many chefs over the years. The Dorset Naga has an intense fruity taste which means that it is the perfect base for a strong but delectable curry sauce.
You only need to use a small amount of the Dorset Naga to get the intense heat, but it is surely worth it.
The fruity flavor of the Dorset Naga is most effective when used in either a meat or fish based curry as the Dorset Naga’s rich fruity undertones will play well against either the main meat or fish.
The Dorset Naga can be used in vegetable-based curries however, it does have a tendency when mixed in with them to take over and destroy the flavor of the other ingredients.
The Dorset Naga can also be used as the central ingredient in a spicy and warming soup, however again it is important that you only use a small amount of the Dorset Naga as you don’t want your soup to be too hot!
Because of its fruity taste the Dorset Naga is found to make a particularly creamy soup which can be a great treat for those who have never experienced such a soup before.
The Dorset Naga has also become very popular in the world of dips.
If you want to have a spicy side dish which you and your guests can dip your bread into alongside the rest of your meal then the Dorset Naga, particularly when mixed with oranges can create a wonderfully sweet dip that will make all of your guests want more!
Whilst the Dorset Naga is fruity it is on the opposite scale to the more sweet and sickly taste of your average orange so this combination can work especially well.
There are of course other ways you might be able to use the Dorset Naga – some people believe that it works well in a kebab as long as you only use a small amount but you are best sticking to the simpler stuff such as sauces and the base for curries, simply because once it is cooked some of the Dorset Naga’s intense heat is taken away and as it is blended in with other ingredients it’s nice fruity taste can truly be let out.
Why You Should Use The Dorset Naga
Despite its intense heat, the Dorset Naga is one of the most edible extremely hot chili peppers.
Unlike some other very hot chili peppers which are famed simply because of their heat, the Dorset Naga like its parent fruit the Naga Morich, has a delightfully fruity taste to it that can give you an extraordinarily nice taste when mixed in with other ingredients.
It may be spicy, but it is a chili pepper that has a true soul to it and one that you should certainly not shy away from using in future.
