Kashmiri Chili Pepper Seeds (Capsicum annuum)

Capsicum annuum

Kashmiri pepper, Kashmiri mirch: in Indian cuisine, it holds a special place. It is not used to burn but to dye — it is what gives tandoori chicken and rogan josh their deep red color, without making the dish inedible. A mild variety whose entire value lies in its color.

Characteristics:

• Intense red: its richness in pigments makes it an outstanding natural coloring agent.
• Mild: only 1,000 to 2,000 Scoville units — a gentle heat, accessible to everyone.
• Thin, wrinkled fruits: 6 to 8 cm, with fairly thin skin that dries easily.
• Powder variety: it is when dried and ground that it truly comes into its own.

Precautions:

• Although mild, it contains capsaicin: avoid touching your eyes after handling it and wash your hands with soap.
• When grinding the dried fruits, protect yourself: chili dust irritates the eyes and respiratory tract.

Sowing advice:

• Exposure: full sun and warmth, in a sheltered position.
• Soil: rich, loose and well-drained, enriched with compost. It does not tolerate standing water.
• Method: sow from February to April under cover or indoors, at 20-25 °C — below 18 °C, the seeds will not germinate. Allow 2 to 3 weeks for germination. See how to sow your seeds.

Planting advice:

• Transplant into the ground when nighttime temperatures stay above 12 °C, spacing plants 50 cm apart. Unlike tomatoes, do not bury the stem: a buried crown will rot.

Care advice:

• Water regularly at the base, without excess. Mulch to maintain soil moisture.
• Bring the pot indoors before frost: the pepper is perennial and will regrow the following spring.

Harvest advice:

• Let the fruits turn completely red on the plant: for this variety, full maturity is essential for color intensity, which is its main attraction.
• Dry them strung together in a garland in a dry, well-ventilated place, away from direct light — sunlight fades the pigments. Grind them once they are brittle.

Beneficial companion plants:

• It naturally forms an Indian garden bed with coriander and holy basil tulsi. Avoid growing it after tomatoes or eggplants. See companion planting in the vegetable garden.

Benefits for biodiversity:

• Its white flowers are visited by bees and bumblebees all summer.
• A little-distributed, true-breeding variety in Europe, its cultivation broadens the diversity of the vegetable garden. See our rare and unusual seeds.

Uses:

• Dried and ground in curries, tandooris, marinades and sauces. It provides a beautiful red color without the heat — very useful for cooking spicy dishes without the burn.

Harvesting your own seeds:
Open a fully red fruit, remove the seeds, rinse them and dry them flat. Be careful: peppers cross-pollinate easily. Isolate your seed plant if you are also growing hot varieties, or their heat may appear in your offspring. See saving your seeds.

Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne Volcanoes, we choose true-breeding, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, with no chemical treatment. Our conviction: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.

The color of Indian curries, without the burn.