Bird's eye chili
Bird's eye chili,
bird's chili or
Thai chili (Vietnamese:
Ớt hiểm, Thai: พริกขี้หนู, RTGS:
phrik khi nu, IPA: , literal: Mouse/rat dropping chili; Indonesian:
Cabai rawit; Malay:
Cili api or Cili padi) is a chili pepper, a cultivar from the species
Capsicum annuum, commonly found in Southeast Asia. It is often confused with a similar-looking chili derived from the species
Capsicum frutescens, the cultivar 'siling labuyo'. Bird's eye chili can also be found in India, in Meghalaya and Kerala; it is used in traditional dishes of the Kerala cuisine (in Malayalam as
kanthari mulagu Malayalam: കാന്താരി മുളക്). The Garos of Meghalaya called it
jal·ik meseki (where
jal·ik = chili;
meseki = mouse dropping). This cultivar (known as කොච්චි (
kochchi) in Sinhalese) is also found in rural areas of Sri Lanka, where it is used as a substitute for green chilis. It is also a main ingredient in
kochchi sambal, a salad made using freshly scraped coconut ground with bird's eye chilis and seasoned with salt and lime juice.