Guwahati: The “ghost chilli,” the world’s spiciest chili, seems to suit her palate.

 

A 28-year-old smeared its seeds on her eyes before gobbling up 51 fire-hot chillies in two minutes for an entry into the Guinness World Records, organizers said on Friday.

Anandita Dutta Tamuly performed the feat on Thursday, cheered on by celebrity British chef Gordon Ramsay who was visiting Assam for a TV shoot for his new global food series.

 

The thumb-sized chilli pepper was accepted by Guinness World Records in 2007 as the world’s spiciest chilli. It is eaten in the northeast as a cure for stomach troubles and a way to fight the crippling summer heat.

 

The chilli has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the scientific measurement of a chilli’s spiciness. Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000.

 

Ramsay tried a bite of the chilli – and ended up regretting it. “It’s too much,” he shouted as he pleaded for water from a stage in Jorhat, 300 kilometres northeast of Guwahati.

 

Tamuly cried too but for a different reason. “I felt so terrible I could eat only 51. In 2006, I had eaten 60 of them in two minutes for a local record event. But I am sure I shall make it to the Guinness World Records.”

 

“Ramsay comforted me saying there was no reason I should feel sad. He said my feat was extraordinary,” she added. Tamuly has been eating the “ghost chilli” – called “bhut jolokia” by locals – since she was 5.