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Spices & seasonings · Dried chillies

Mundu chillies (gundu milagai)

Round, plump dried red chillies from Ramanathapuram, used whole in Tamil kuzhambu, sambar and tempering.

Also called: gundu milagai, gundu chilli, ramnad mundu, mundu milagai, round red chillies, round dried chillies

Around the world: குண்டு மிளகாய், முண்டு மிளகாய் (ta)

A kind of dried whole chillies

Read the full spice guide: flavour, history and how to use it

What it is

Mundu chillies (gundu milagai) are round, cherry-sized dried red chillies grown around Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu. They are thin-skinned with many seeds and moderate heat, and they puff up and darken nicely in hot oil. They are the usual whole chilli in Tamil and Chettinad tempering.

Capsicum annuum

How it’s used

  • Tempering for sambar, rasam and kuzhambu
  • Vatha kuzhambu and kara kuzhambu
  • Chettinad masalas

Characteristics

Taste
Moderate heat, slightly fruity.
Appearance
Round, glossy, dark red, 1.5–2.5 cm across.
Sold as
whole
Cooking uses
Used for tempering (tadka), Mainly a seasoning, Commonly cooked
Common in
South Indian

Storage

Cool, dry and dark. Airtight container away from light.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
318 kcal
Protein
12.01 g
Carbohydrate
56.63 g
Fat
17.27 g
Fibre
27.2 g
Sugars
10.34 g

USDA FoodData Central: Spices, pepper, red or cayenne (a close stand-in).

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

Related ingredients

Recipes with mundu chillies (gundu milagai)

No recipe in the catalogue uses it yet.

More dried chillies