The chili pepper from Nahuatl chīlli is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Chili peppers are widely used in many cuisines to add spiciness to dishes.
A popular vegetable in India, this tiny gourd can now be found in Indian markets in California and elsewhere. Here it is always sold green, looking very much like a tiny cucumber, but in India it is also sometimes used in it's scarlet red mature stage.