Hot

That exciting burning sensation you feel when you eat a fresh Thai or serrano chile pepper is a response to the naturally occurring chemical inside the pepper called capsacin. When cooking Indian food, I use serrano chiles for a milder heat and Thai chiles for a hotter dish. I also like guajillo chiles, which are dried, and cayenne pepper. If you want your food to taste less hot, remove the seeds and the central white membrane (the hottest parts of the chile) before adding the chile, fresh or dried, to the dish.