Playing with fire

Mike Jack a Canadian recordholder in eating chillies set a new Guinness World Record by devouring three Carolina Reaper chillies mdash the hottest chilli in the world according to Guinness in less than 10 seconds Inspired by him we looked around to find the spiciest dishes on the cityrsquos food map in case Jackrsquos record has your taste buds tinglingMike Jack attempts to eat Carolina Reapers PicGuinness World RecordFor dumpling loversGhost chilli shares Keenan Tham founder of Pebble Street Hospitality has a Scoville unit that indicates hotness of about 1000000 He urges us to try the ghost chilli dumplings at his restaurant FooAt Foo Town and Lower ParelCost Rs 360 plus taxes for veg Rs 410 plus taxes for nonvegAssamese zingMaladbased home chef Tahin Ojah Sharma who runs the delivery kitchen Helonci tells us that bhut jolokia or ghost pepper one of the worldrsquos hottest chillies is used in certain Assamese dishes She offers chicken panfried with bhut jolokia and bhut jolokia chicken steamed in a banana leafCall 9833998240Cost Rs 450Guntur callingAndhra cuisine is famous for its spicy dishes and one of the chillies responsible for this is the Guntur sannam reveals Muthu Krishnan C Nadar head chef at Thangabali ldquoGuntur kozi vepudu is a dish made by grinding Guntur sannam chilli with whole coriander cinnamon sticks garlic and black pepperrdquo says Nadar adding that the dish originated from the kitchens of local paddy farmers who needed to pair rice with something hotAt Thangabali MahimLog on to Swiggy or ZomatoCost Rs 290Dynamite kickA signature dish thatrsquos inherently piquant is the lobster dynamite claims Amol Phute chef de cuisine at Bastian ldquoItrsquos an openfaced Westernstyle sushi with butterpoached lobster and our dynamite sauce that contains ghost chilliesrdquo says PhuteAt Bastian Bandra and WorliCall 8419966853Cost Rs 1250 plus taxesCan you wing itThis writer remembers grossly underestimating the spice quotient in Socialrsquos death wings mdash theyrsquore quite lethal Chef Glyston Gracias city chef tells us the dish was introduced in 2014 ldquoDeath wings as the name suggests are devilishly spicy wings coated with our secret sauce made inhouse with four types of chilliesrdquo The restaurant and bar chain is running an ongoing challenge across all their outposts he informs us ldquoIf you can finish a plate all by yourself without pausing to take a sip of water therersquos lemonade on the houserdquoAt Any outpost of SocialCost Rs 280 onwardsThecha and cheese sandwichFor those who love their Bombay sandwich Risha Shah cofounder of Instawich Sandwiches says they offer a peppery chilli cheese sandwich and a thecha and cheese sandwich ldquoThese come with our inhouse Kolhapuri red thecha thatrsquos made with Kolhapuri chillies I would rate the heat level an 810rdquo she addsLog on to Swiggy or ZomatoCost Rs 145 for bothIngredientsgtgt 100g onionsgtgt 100g tomatoesgtgt 100g capsicum gtgt 100g spicy red thecha made by handpounding Kolhapuri red chillies garlic oil mustard seeds asafoetida and saltgtgt 100g green chutneygtgt A pinch of sandwich masala poundGrated cheddar to garnishMethodMix the finely chopped tomatoes onions and capsicum with the red thecha and sandwich masala Apply the green chutney on the bread slices Fill in the mixed ingredients between the slices of bread Add the grated cheddar cheese and grill the sandwich well Serve with green chutney and thecha on the side for some added kick