Grinding dried chiles in a mortar and pestle

chili-peppersmortar-and-pestle

I purchased some dried chile peppers from a local market thinking that I might be able to grind them up in a mortar and pestle. That completely failed – the peppers didn't grind at all, and instead mushed up.

Is there any way to grind peppers in a mortar and pestle, or is that purely a job for a blender?

Thanks!

Best Answer

That sort of grinding only works with seeds and such. Chiles are too fibrous. I use a cuisinart mini mate chopper/grinder for all my spice milling needs. There's a dull side to the blade for grinding stuff like peppercorns, and a sharp side for stuff like chiles. About the only thing my mortar and pestle ever gets used for is grinding kosher salt to a more useful grain size.