These peppers don’t have any back story that I was able to uncover. Just a name without a description on the Seed Savers Exchange database.
So, how did I discover Nepali Orange? I had seen some really interesting peppers shaped like an upside-down flower. They were called Nepalese Bell peppers. But the price for the seeds along with the quantity of seeds you actually got and the added cost of shipping made me look elsewhere in hopes to find that interesting variety.
I of course turned to my favorite source, the SSE exchange and looked for varieties that might be similar. When I came across Nepali Orange, I decided to give them a shot. They resulting peppers didn’t have the fanciful shape I’d hoped for , but ended up being a pleasant surprise in every other regard.
The year we grew these we planned on keeping all of our peppers in the greenhouse. These plants were flowering long before it was time to plant out our other crops. They were such petite compact little plants that we put a few out in the garden as well. The plants have lime green almost chartreuse foliage and petite leaves compared to other peppers. They produce loads of tiny 1-1.5 inch long pointed peppers. These tiny peppers are mighty. Not for the casual Sweet pepper muncher. A single pepper can add heat to a batch of fresh salsa.
All summer long we picked handfuls of these little peppers. If you left them on the counter for a few days, they would dry out completely. I ended up stringing the peppers onto long lengths of thread and hanging them in the pantry. Whenever I want a little extra zip in a recipe I break one or two peppers off of the string and crunch them into whatever I’m making. My favorite way to use them is in homemade guacamole.
Here’s my recipe:
- 2 ripe avocadoes
- Juice from 1 lime
- salt (probably 1/2 tsp, but I sprinkle a bit at a time till I get the flavor I want)
- 1-2 crushed Nepali peppers
Mash together and stir. Serve with chips or on Fajitas.
