Kashmiri, Bedgi, Sankeshwari or Tez? A Plain-English Guide to Buying Lal Tikhat (Red Chilli Powder)

Ask for "lal tikhat" in a Maharashtrian kitchen and you'll be handed plain red chilli powder: no garlic, no coriander, no roasted spices, just chilli. It's the tin you reach for when a dish needs more heat but not more masala. Buy it online, though, and the one tin turns into a dozen: Kashmiri, Bedgi, Sankeshwari, "tez", "lali", everyday lal tikhat. They're all red, they're all ground chilli, and they behave quite differently in the pan.

The short answer: a chilli powder does two jobs, colour and heat, and different chillies do them in different amounts. Kashmiri and Bedgi give lots of red with gentle heat. Anything sold as "tez" or "extra spicy" is there for heat. An everyday lal tikhat sits in between. Many kitchens keep one of each kind and mix them to taste.

Colour and heat are two separate things

This is the one idea that makes the whole shelf make sense. A chilli's red colour and its heat come from different compounds in the pod, and they don't rise and fall together. A deep, dark red powder can be surprisingly mild, and a duller, orange-red powder can be fierce. So you can't judge heat by looking at the tin.

That's why many Maharashtrian households blend. A spoon of a mild, high-colour chilli gives a rassa or a misal its red look. A smaller amount of a hot chilli sets the heat. Change the ratio and you change the dish, without touching the masala.

The names on the pack, decoded

Kashmiri: colour first, heat second

Kashmiri mirchi powder is what you use when you want a dish to look red without it becoming hard to eat. It's the safe choice for children, for guests who don't eat much spice, and for tandoori-style marinades where the colour matters. On its own it won't make most Maharashtrian food hot enough, which is exactly why it's usually paired with something sharper.

• RUJAL MIRCHI MASALA Kashmiri Mirchi Powder, from Vaishnavi Women SHG in Nandurbar: 250 g at ₹252 or 500 g at ₹396.
• NANDINI MASALE Kashmiri Mirch Powder, 200 g, ₹214, from Sakhi SHG in Pune district.

Bedgi (Byadgi): deep red, wrinkled, mild

Bedgi is how Marathi speakers say Byadgi, a town in Haveri district, Karnataka. Byadgi chilli is GI-registered there, and it's known for a deep red colour, a wrinkled skin and low heat. It's the backbone of a lot of South Indian cooking and is also used to extract natural red colour for the food industry. In a Maharashtrian kitchen it does the same job as Kashmiri: colour without much burn.

Shripad Bedgi Chilli Powder, 250 g, ₹226, from Utkarsh SHG in Pune district. As with any "Bedgi" pack, the name tells you the chilli type, not that it carries the Karnataka GI.

Sankeshwari: the Kolhapur-border name

Sankeshwar is a town in Belagavi district, just across the border from Kolhapur, and the chilli named after it is a familiar name around Kolhapur. It is usually bought as a middle-of-the-road powder: more heat than Kashmiri, good colour. The Nandurbar group that makes this one describes it as a balance of colour and spice, and that's a fair way to use it.

RUJAL MIRCHI MASALA Shankeshwari Mirchi Powder, Vaishnavi Women SHG, Nandurbar: 250 g at ₹204 or 500 g at ₹337.

"Tez", Teja and "extra spicy": this is the heat

Tez simply means sharp. Teja is a separate thing, a hot chilli variety from the Guntur belt of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, but on a label both point the same way. A powder sold like this is the one you use in smaller amounts, to set the heat of a dish, and it's the one to keep away from anyone who isn't used to Kolhapuri-level spice.

RUJAL MIRCHI MASALA Jarila Tez Mirchi Powder, Vaishnavi Women SHG, Nandurbar, sold as extra spicy: 250 g at ₹192 or 500 g at ₹276.

Plain lal tikhat: the everyday tin

Most SHG chilli powders don't name a variety at all. They're a house grind of local chillies, somewhere in the middle for both colour and heat, and they're what most households actually cook with every day. Differences between them come from which chillies the group bought that season, how long the chillies were sun-dried and how fine they were ground, so it's worth trying a small pack before committing to a kilo.

• SUNAMI Lal Tikhat, Sunami SHG, Latur: 250 g at ₹228 or 500 g at ₹318.
• Lakshmi Lal Tikhat, Bhimai SHG, Latur: 250 g at ₹192 or 500 g at ₹258.
• AAI GAVRAN MASALE Lal Tikhat, 1 kg, ₹454, Radha Krushna SHG, Latur, for households that go through it fast.
• RUJAL MIRCHI MASALA Lali Mirchi Powder, 250 g, ₹240, Vaishnavi Women SHG, Nandurbar.

Nandurbar and Bhiwapur: Maharashtra's own chilli country

Maharashtra has two GI-registered chillies of its own. Bhiwapur chilli comes from Nagpur district in Vidarbha and is known for a dark red colour and a thick skin. Nandurbar mirchi, from Nandurbar and neighbouring Dhule, got its GI in 2024. Nandurbar is a major chilli market and grinding centre, which is why so many of the powders above come from there.

The same caution applies here as with turmeric: a district name in a product title is not a GI certificate. GI produce is sold by registered authorised users, and a genuine GI pack will normally say so. None of the Nandurbar listings on UmedMart show GI details, so treat them as chilli ground by women's groups in Nandurbar, not as certified GI Nandurbar mirchi.

Two more Nandurbar groups, both making plain everyday chilli powder in three sizes:

• KRUSHI KANYA Mirchi Powder, Krushi Kanya Mahila Utpadak Gat: 250 g at ₹228, 500 g at ₹348 and 1 kg at ₹588.
• RAJESHWARI ROYAL Chilli Powder, Navdurga Women SHG: 200 g at ₹228, 500 g at ₹408 and 1 kg at ₹708.

A quick check you can do at home

Brick powder, sand and soapstone are cheap ways to bulk out chilli powder, and FSSAI's DART (Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test) programme suggests a simple water test:

• Stir a teaspoon of chilli powder into a glass of water and let it settle.
• Take a little of the residue at the bottom and rub it between your fingers.
• If it feels gritty, that suggests brick powder or sand. If it feels soapy and smooth, that suggests soapstone.

It's a rough home screen, not a lab test. The other thing to watch is colour that looks too good. FSSAI's general advice on ground spices is to avoid ones with extra shine or unnaturally bright colour, to avoid loose powder sold without a label, and to look for an FSSAI licence number on the pack.

Keeping it red

With chilli powder, the colour is the first thing to go. Light, warmth and damp all dull it, and a tin that lives next to the stove fades much faster than one in a cupboard. Keep a month's worth in a small airtight, opaque tin, store the rest sealed in a cool cupboard, and always use a dry spoon. If you buy a 1 kg pack, the freezer tip in our masala guide works well for chilli powder too.

Chilli that isn't powder: sandgi mirchi and dahi mirchi

Maharashtra also preserves whole green chillies, and these are a different pleasure altogether. The chillies are soaked or stuffed with salt and spices, often with curd or buttermilk, and dried in the sun until they turn pale and brittle. Before eating, you fry them for a few seconds in hot oil until they puff and darken, and eat them crunchy beside dal-bhaat, curd rice or khichdi. Keep the heat moderate and stand back a little: they go from golden to burnt quickly, and the fumes are sharp.

The name changes with who's making it. On UmedMart, the Sindhudurg groups call theirs sandgi mirchi, and the groups from Jalna and Amravati call theirs dahi mirchi. Recipes differ from house to house, so check the product page for what's in the stuffing.

• ATHASHREE Sandagi Mirchi, 100 g, ₹204.32: green chillies stuffed with a spice mix and sun-dried, from Yashoda Vaze SHG in Sindhudurg.
• runanubandh Sandagi Mirchi, 50 g, ₹156.39, from Sindhudurg: a small pack to try it.
• SWAMI SAMARTH SHG Masala Dahi Mirchi, from Ghodegaon in Jalna district: 50 g at ₹156.39 or 100 g at ₹264.24.
• JYOSHI GHARACHI CHAV Dahi Mirchi, 50 g, ₹156, from Namo Namo SHG in Amravati district.

Thecha and mirchi lonche

Two more ways Maharashtra eats chilli straight. Thecha is a coarse, pounded chilli chutney, green or red, eaten in small amounts with bhakri. HIRAI Red Thecha, 200 g, ₹241, is from Pragati SHG in Chandrapur.

Mirchi lonche is green chilli pickle, and limbu-mirchi adds lemon for sourness:

• MANE Chilli Pickle, 100 g, ₹130.02, Shri Sai SHG, Kolhapur.
• JIVAN JYOTI Spicy Green Chilli Pickle, 250 g, ₹165, from Beed.
• ANUJ FOODS Lemon Chilli Pickle, 200 g, ₹192.34, Bhagini Nivedita SHG, Ambad, Jalna.
• MORYA Limbu Mirchi, 500 g, ₹292, Sati Anusaya Women's SHG, Pune district.

For lemon, amla, kavath, karle and other pickles beyond mango and chilli, see our guide to Maharashtra's pickles beyond mango.

If you're setting up a chilli shelf from scratch

Start with one everyday lal tikhat in a 250 g pack. If your food tastes right but looks pale, add a Kashmiri or Bedgi for colour. If it looks right but isn't hot enough, add a small pack of a tez powder instead of piling on more of the everyday one. Kala masala, the dark roasted blend for rassa, is a separate thing again, covered in our masala guide.

Quick questions

Is lal tikhat the same as red chilli powder?

Yes. Lal tikhat is the Marathi name for plain red chilli powder, with no other spices added. Kala tikhat or kala masala is a different, roasted blend.

Which chilli powder is least spicy?

Kashmiri and Bedgi (Byadgi) are the mild, high-colour ones. They're the best choice if you want red colour without much heat.

Why is my chilli powder darker than last time?

Small-batch powders change with the season's chillies, how long they were dried and how fine they were ground. A little variation is normal. Unnaturally bright or shiny powder is what to be wary of.

Is Nandurbar chilli powder GI-tagged?

Nandurbar mirchi is a GI-registered chilli, but not every chilli powder from Nandurbar is sold as GI produce. Look for GI authorised-user details on the pack if that's what you want.

How do I cook sandgi or dahi mirchi?

Fry a few at a time in hot oil for a few seconds, until they puff and darken, then drain. Eat them as a crunchy side with dal-bhaat or curd rice. They aren't meant to be eaten straight from the pack.

Prices and availability above were checked on 30 September 2026 and can change.

Related reading

• Goda, Kala, Kanda Lasun or Garam? A Plain-English Guide to Maharashtra's Masala Blends: what goes in the tin next to the lal tikhat.
• "Natural", "Chemical-Free", "Wooden-Pressed": What SHG Food Labels Actually Mean: worth reading before you trust any word on a spice pack.
• Sweet, Tangy, or Lonche? Maharashtra's Mango Pickle Isn't Just One Thing: mirchi lonche's better-known cousin.
• Papad, Papadi, Kurdai or Sandge?: the other sun-dried things that get fried and served on the side.
• Waigaon, Sangli or Everyday Halad? A Plain-English Guide to Buying Turmeric Powder: the other single-spice tin, and Maharashtra's three GI turmerics.