Sirarakhong Hathei Chilli, Dried (GI Tagged) | Manipur Red Chilli
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Product description
Sirarakhong Hathei, the Single Origin Colour Chilli of Manipur
In one village in the hills of Ukhrul, Manipur, a mild and deeply red chilli is grown that the people there call a blessing. This is the single origin, GI tagged Hathei, sun dried and sent whole, prized for the colour it gives far more than for its heat.
ASTA measures how much red a chilli gives. Most colour chillies sit near 120, while Hathei reaches 150 to 165, with samples documented at 164. The third box needs no scale, it is simply the one village this chilli comes from.
This is the Sirarakhong Hathei, a chilli grown in a single Tangkhul Naga village in the hills of Ukhrul, Manipur, and almost never sold beyond the state. It is a colour chilli first, deeply and evenly red, with an aroma cooks prize and a heat that stays gentle. Whether you have searched for it after meeting it in a Northeastern kitchen, or you simply want a natural red that no blended paprika can match, this is the real single origin Hathei, sun dried and left whole.
The Place: One Village in the Hills of Ukhrul
Sirarakhong is a village in the Ukhrul district of Manipur, about 66 km from Imphal, set in the hills the Tangkhul Naga have farmed for generations. The Hathei chilli grows almost nowhere else. It is raised under jhum, the region's traditional shifting cultivation, on open hill slopes, and it draws its character from this one microclimate. Move the seed elsewhere and the chilli is not the same, which is exactly what its Geographical Indication recognises.
Local lore tells of village elders who came upon the plant while hunting in the forest and carried it home, a find the community came to treat as a gift. Around four hundred households here now live by the chilli, and in folklore it is called the red cover that drapes the hills. The harvest is small, roughly twenty to twenty five tonnes in a good year, and most of it is eaten within Manipur, which is why a single origin Hathei is so rarely found outside the Northeast.
Single Origin Hathei, Not Blended Paprika: Know What You Are Buying
Most of the deep red paprika on the market is not one chilli at all. It is blended from many varieties and growing areas to hit a colour and a price, so its colour and character drift from lot to lot. Hathei is the opposite.
Pooled from many varieties and regions, often Karnataka, Kerala and elsewhere. Inconsistent ASTA colour and less depth of flavour, batch to batch.
One variety from one Manipur village, an ASTA value of 150 to 165, GI tagged. A deep, even red and a gentle heat, kept whole and unblended.
Because real Hathei is scarce, cheaper chillies are often sold under its name. The GI exists precisely to mark the genuine single origin crop.
From Hill Slope to Pod: How It Is Made
- Grown under jhum. Raised on the open hill slopes of Sirarakhong by the Tangkhul Naga, in the region's traditional shifting cultivation, much of the work done by the village women.
- Harvested ripe. Pods are left to turn fully, deeply red on the plant before they are picked by hand.
- Sun dried. Dried in the open air until the moisture is right. The unhurried dry is what holds the deep, even red the chilli is known for.
- Cleaned and packed whole. Stems and debris are removed by hand, then the chillies are sent to you as whole pods, never pre ground.
A festival, and a gift from the hills
Every year the village gathers for the Sirarakhong Hathei Phanit, a chilli festival first held in 2010, where hundreds of growers, most of them women, bring their harvest to sell and to celebrate. The community treats the chilli as a blessing of the hills, and a traditional Tangkhul song ties it to the Khuilang, the tribe's cherished shawl. To grow it here is as much an act of culture as of farming.
Why We Sell Whole Pods, Not Powder
A chilli prized for its colour has the most to lose from grinding. Ground chilli fades fast, because grinding opens every surface to air and light, while whole pods hold their colour and aroma far longer. Buying them whole lets you grind small amounts as you need them, so the red that reaches your pan is the red the sun fixed on the hill.
Colour without the burn. Hathei is a mild chilli to begin with, and most of what heat it carries sits in the seeds and the pale inner membrane. Split a pod and shake the seeds out, and you are left with almost pure, deep colour, which is how many cooks prefer to use it.
One Chilli, Three Ways
A tempering that stains the whole dish a deep, even red from the first crackle, with only a gentle warmth.
A fresh, single origin paprika with a colour and aroma no blended packet keeps. Use it wherever a dish needs red.
Softened and ground for curries and marinades, for a colour that clings without overwhelming heat.
Why Choose Our Sirarakhong Hathei
- Single origin. One variety from one village in Ukhrul, Manipur, never blended with other chillies.
- GI tagged. Registered as a Geographical Indication by the Government of India in 2021, for its origin and character.
- Prized for colour. A deep, even red at an ASTA value of 150 to 165, with only a gentle heat.
- Sun dried and whole. Dried the traditional way and sent as whole pods, so the colour and aroma last.
- Genuinely rare. A small hill harvest, most of which never leaves Manipur.
The red the Tangkhul hills are known for, from the one village that grows it.
| Type | Whole dried red chilli, Sirarakhong Hathei |
|---|---|
| Origin | Sirarakhong village, Ukhrul district, Manipur |
| Botanical name | Capsicum annuum L. |
| Also called | Lal Mirch (Hindi), Hathei (Tangkhul), Sirarakhong chilli |
| Colour | Deep red, ASTA value of 150 to 165 |
| Heat | Mild and aromatic rather than fiery |
| Cultivation | Jhum (shifting) cultivation on hill slopes |
| GI status | Registered Geographical Indication, awarded 2021 |
| Best for | Natural colour in curries, paprika, pickles, tempering and marinades |
| Packs | 20g, 100g, 250g, 500g and 1kg |
About our Sirarakhong Hathei chilli
How hot is Sirarakhong Hathei chilli?
Is this whole chillies or powder?
How is it different from regular paprika or Kashmiri colour chilli?
What does Hathei mean, and what is the Khuilang connection?
Is it really GI tagged?
Why is it so rare and a little expensive?
How do I use it for colour, and can I grind it at home?
How should I store dried red chillies?
Additional information
| Name | Sirarakhong Hathei Chilli, Dried (GI Tagged) | Manipur Red Chilli |
|---|---|
| SKU | nm-sc-sp-wd-SS-20 |
| Vendor | Nilgiri Marten Spices |
| Weight | 20G, 100G, 250G, 500G, 1KG |
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