Offtrack: Shertha: Some Like it Hot

From Reshampatti to Kashmiri, the chilli capital of the country has them all.

Chilli from all over India is brought here for processing.During the four-month season, local spice merchants earn upto Rs 10 crore.

Chilli from all over India is brought here for processing. During the four-month season, local spice merchants earn upto Rs 10 crore.

What is green, seven inches long, is sweet-sour and tangy at one end but pungent enough to blister your tongue at the other? The answer is Wonder Eight, a new hybrid chilli that was developed in Andhra Pradesh about three years ago. If you long to taste it, head straight for, no, not Hyderabad, but Shertha in Gujarat.

Just 25 km from Ahmedabad, this tiny village (population: 8,000) is the chilli capital of India. On the Ahmedabad-Jodhpur highway, mounds of red peppers dry in the sunlight for miles along both sides of the road. The spicy smell permeates everything in Shertha. Every day between January and April, the busy season, more than 11,000 kg of the pungent chillies is dried and powdered here. That works out to about Rs 10 crore for four months' work for Shertha's 45-odd spice traders, who employ 3,000 people during the period. And yet not one chilli is home-grown. They come to Shertha from all over the country for processing, but the village doesn't have even a single chilli farmer.

That wasn't always the case. Chilli processing in Shertha goes back over 200 years as does cultivation of the crop. About 50 years ago, the water table started decreasing and tube-well water was found unsuitable for the vegetable. The farmers switched to other crops (mainly wheat and bajra), but Shertha remained the mecca of mirch.

The concrete buildings notwithstanding, Shertha is a sleepy hamlet for eight months of the year, moving into high gear only around end-December. That's when the spice manufacturers strike advance deals with chilli farmers all over the country. Flat rates are offered for the entire produce of a farm. It's a gamble, since the traders are banking on their judgement of how much a farm will yield but Shertha resident say they rarely lose out. The big spice merchants from Shertha travel all over southern India seeking their bounty. Chillies from all over the country are brought to Shertha. The produce from neighbouring areas is dried and sorted before it is powdered; the southern harvests are generally dried before they reach Shertha.

Ask any villager about the varieties of chillies and you'll be bombarded with a laundry list. From Andhra Pradesh comes the Patni and Longi mirch and Wonder Eight. Deshi mirch from Mehsana and Gandhinagar apart, Gujarat is known for the Reshampatti from Gondal, which is immensely popular in Mumbai. Karnataka's Hubli district sends the Bedgi and the inappropriately-named Kashmiri chillis for processing; and Maharashtra is known for the Jarila from Nandurbar district.

Eighteen-hour workdays are common during the season. Evenings are generally reserved for the big, bulk spice traders who come to Shertha from all over western India. Extremely particular about their requirements, they tend to select the pepper pods and have them powdered in their presence in huge, mechanical grinders.

Daytime belongs to the individuals who travel down to Shertha in search of pure spices. They come more often these days, since adulteration of chilli powder using powdered wood and artificial colours is increasing. In Shertha, spice traders stand guarantee for the quality. "Quality is our hallmark. None of us would even dream of mixing wood powder with mirch," says Amratbhai Patel, whose Shri Ganesh Food Products is the biggest in Shertha with an annual turnover of over Rs 75 lakh. Bargainers are usually advised to avoid the more expensive "dandi-cut" (chillis minus the stalk).

Naturally enough, the clientele is vast. Chandubhai Patel of Shertha's Ambica Masala Company explains preferences. "The Longi is just an inch long but it can make your ears smoke. Bhelpuriwallahs prefer it because it is the cheapest -- Rs 50 a kg. Five-star hotels prefer the Kashmiri which suits more refined palates." His recommendation? The Reshampatti from Gondal: "reasonably hot with no uncomfortable after effects". So if you want the real stuff, you now know where to head.