What spices change the degree of hotness in Indian food.?
Ginger adds to heat but not in the same manner as the chili peppers. I use both dried ginger and fresh ginger. The Black peppers contribute to low level heat with a nice flavor. The white and yellow peppers add more flavor than heat. Pipali adds nice heat and flavor but available only in parts of South India. Green hot chili peppers add heat. In India, they are called Hari Mirch. In United Stated the best substitute is Serrano followed by Jalapeno. These peppers are normally chopped and added along with garlic and ginger in the early part of curry making. If you want really hot, you may substitute with Habenera or Scotch Bonnet, but be very CAREFUL. Dried red chili pepper are routinely added to add heat to Indian curries. In India, they use powdered Lal Mirch. In United States you can add powdered Cayenne peppers. The souring agents such as Amchoor (Dried sour mango powder) or Tamarind help the heat from peppers to blend in with other spices in the curry. The Cinnamon, Cloves, Carom se
