Yes, chili powder is very similar to cayenne pepper. Both are made from dried capsicums that have been finely ground, but cayenne is a little bit hotter. Hot pepper sauce (Tabasco) may be used as a substitute in liquid dishes, but it should not be used in dry mixtures.

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No. Most chilies are green when they are unripe and then ripen to yellow, orange, reddish-brown and purple or near-black. The fruity flavor increases with maturity but not the intrinsic heat. As a rough guide, smaller and slimmer chilies are the hottest, but there are exceptions. The only safe course is to become familiar with the common varieties.

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Chickpeas are versatile, nourishing and useful in soups and stews, cooked with or without meat. You can also incorporate them in bean salads and vegetable dishes. Dried chickpeas need overnight soaking and long cooking to make them tender. For this reason, it is much easier to buy canned chickpeas, which are already cooked. Traditionally, a fluid, oily paste of sesame seeds called tahina is added to the chickpea mixture.

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