Chilies (was Re: Tobacco)

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

On Thu, 4 Sep 1997, David R. Israel wrote:

> after the voyage of Columbus.  I believe it's commonly asserted that 
> the same holds for various other botanicals, such as tomatos and 
> chilis.  Tangentially, this seems rather interesting with regard to 
> current customs & practices of Indian cuisine -- suggesting that mrch 
> masala isn't so perennial as one might assume from current plates.

Indeed. Among strictly observant south Indian families, chilies are
avoided in the food prepared for the annual SrAddha rituals. Pepper is
used instead. 

Vidyasankar