Ghost pepper (Bhüt jolokia)

Ghost pepper or bhut jolokia is a hot chili pepper that's cultivated in the Northeast Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur. Due to the fact that it's one of the spiciest chili peppers in the world, the Indian Army even uses them to create military grade chili grenades (smoke bombs).

These peppers have a Scoville heat unit ranging from 855,000 to 1,041,427 SHU. The flavors are best described as fruity, sweet, and earthy. These hybrids of Capsicum chinense and Capsicum frutescens were proclaimed the world's hottest chili peppers in 2007 by Guinness World Records, but in 2013 the ghost pepper was superseded by Carolina Reaper, which can be twice as hot.

Interestingly, locals sometimes smear ghost peppers on walls and fences to keep wild elephants at bay.