Different red chilli peppers found in my kitchen: starting from the top, going left to right: whole dry red chillies, crushed red pepper (the kind you find at pizza joints), ancho chile powder, paprika, basic hot chilli powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, ground cayenne powder

Dear Big Apple Curry,

Is chilli powder the same thing as cayenne pepper? Are chilli flakes the hot pepper flakes like you would put on a pizza?

====================================================

Dear Reader!

Thanks for your question!

As you can imagine, there are many varieties of red chilli peppers in India alone, never mind globally. Indian chilli powder is not exactly the same thing as cayenne pepper, but you can freely substitute one for the other — the former you can find at any Indian grocer, it is usually redder in color and hotter than cayenne powder; the latter you can easily find in any grocery store, even small corner stores, and it does the trick. Yes, red chilli flakes or crushed red pepper indeed fill the shaker bottles you find at pizza places. I use them in everyday cooking when I’m starting to make a curry, first by heating a few red chilli flakes in oil and then adding onions, garlic, and ginger. I rarely sprinkle red chilli flakes on a finished Indian dish before serving it, the way you would sprinkle it on pizza for a little kick. When I make more complicated Indian dishes, I use a specific variety of chilli powder, depending on the region the dish originates from. For instance, I use red Kashmiri chilli powder when making a North Indian dish like butter chicken because it has a little bite, but  isn’t that hot,  imparting a sweet smoothness that is perfect in milder dishes like butter chicken.

I hope this helps. Let me know what you end up cooking!

Dry Red Chillis and fresh kari patha (curry leaves)