Making your own chilli flakes or powder is very simple and perhaps the easiest way to use up a glut of ripe chillies. Making flakes is the perfect activity for an autumn when you plants are heaving with ripe fruit.
The easiest method that produces the most consistent results is to use a food dehydrator. That said it is just as easy to use a regular regular domestic oven.
I make each batch with a different variety so the resulting flakes keep the distinct flavours of the pods used. However feel free to try making some blends and let us know what works best!
In this batch I made three separate grinds:
- Yellow – made solely from Aji Lemon pods
- Brown – from Chocolate Habanero
- Red – from a mix of Spanish Naga, Tinidad Scorpiam Moruga & Naga Jolokia. This is very hot!
How to Make the Flakes
1. Wash and towel dry your chilli pods
2. De-stalk and slice the pods in half, placing face up on a baking tray (leave the seeds in)
3. Place in an oven heated to 80 degrees celcius (approx 175 fahrenheit) and leave the door slightly ajar
4. Check the pods every hour. You can remove them from the oven when the pods are brittle and crumble between your fingers. Depending on the variety this can take anything from 2-5 hours.
By leaving the oven door slightly ajar the moisture can escape the oven, which in turn helps with the drying process. It also helps to ensure a lower temperature, reducing the chances of you cooking the pods. The aim is to dry the chilli pods not to cook them.
The chillies will give off quite an intense aroma during this drying phase so it might be an idea to shut the kitchen door and open a couple of windows.
Different varieties of pods will take different amounts of time. When you can easily crumble the pods between your fingers you know they’re done.
Once the chillies have dried remove the pods from the oven before grinding them to the size you desire. Personally I like the resulting mixture to be about half powder and half small flakes.
For this batch I simply placed the dry chillies in a bowl and ground them down between my fingers. You could easily use a spice grinder or pestle and mortar instead.
If using your hand be sure to wear rubber gloves….oh and don’t remove you contact lenses just after making your powder!
I use a rolling pin to crush the dried chillies. Just put them in plastic sandwich bag or similar.
I don’t grow my own but buy a small bag when I need one chilli for a recipe. Often, the others in the bag get left in the fridge to wither over time, forgotten. Had a brainwave this morning about saving these chillis from certain death and found your post, thank you. I’m off to rescue my current batch from a visit to the food waste bin!
Jenny
Glad to have helped! Good luck making your chilli flakes!
Have wanted to know how to do this – I have a glut this year. Will be drying this weekend! Thanks.