If you're keen to bring the authentic flavours of Mexico to your kitchen, you can't do so without chilli. The fiery peppers have been grown and cooked in Mexico throughout its history, a tradition which is thought to span back as far back as 5,000 BC. Chillies thrive in Mexico's warm climate, and their heat, smoke and pungency are at the heart of Mexican cuisine – they are an intrinsic part of countless dishes, adding fiery spice to sauces, complex depth to stews and vibrancy to salsas. 

We might – for good reason – most commonly associate chillies with heat, but there's much more to them than a spicy kick. Their flavours range from fruity and citrusy to grassy and earthy, making them incredibly versatile. Below, we've taken a look at just some of the most popular and important dried and fresh chillies in Mexican cooking, and offered some recipe inspiration for putting them to good use. And while we're on the topic of all things spicy, don't miss our breakdown of the science of spice here and our top tips for dialling up your tolerance here.

One of its best-known chillies, jalapeños are usually relatively small and picked while they're still green (as they ripen they turn red or orange). They register at anywhere between 2,500 and 8,000 Scoville heat units (SHU), packing a punch but sitting on the milder end of the scale. Their flavour is often described as earthy, with notes of green bell pepper and when they are dried and smoked, they're known as chipotle (more on that below). Jalapeños can be used raw or cooked; we've turned them into a gelato with mango, Ramael Scully candies them in a corn rice dish and we've also fried them to top our beef and bacon chilli.

Hailing from Mexico's Puebla, the green poblano is larger and milder than the jalapeño (usually coming in at around 1,500 SHU), used to add a delicate zing to salsas and sauces. Poblanos are thicker than other chillies, meaning they hold up well stuffed – they're commonly used in chiles rellenos poblanos. When dried, they're known as ancho – but we'll again come onto that later. 

Small and round, habanero chillies are known for their ferocity, with a bold heat (somewhere between 100,000 and 350,000 SHU), which is matched by an equally unique fruitiness. In 1999, it was named by Guinness World Records as the world's hottest chilli, though it's since been topped (currently by the Pepper X). Habaneros are sold fresh and dried, are usually red or yellow and are particularly important in Yucatecan food, in which they feature heavily. Nud Dudhia spikes his beef tartare with half a fresh habanero, and also turns the chillies into a fiery salsa. 

Serrano chillies were first grown in the the mountainous Mexican regions of Puebla and Hidalgo and are similar to jalapeños, but smaller and spicier (usually between 10,000 and 25,000 SHU). They are also traditionally used when they are green, rather than being allowed to ripen until red. Usually used fresh, they are fleshy and often have a starring ingredient in salsas – we like to use them in our ultimate pico de gallo recipe, and it's the base of the salsa taquero above.

Moving onto dried chillies. When roasted and dried, poblano peppers are known as ancho; mild, sweet and smoky, adding a delicious richness to dishes. They're a staple in Mexican cooking, offering a fruity and earthy flavour (it's sometimes described as raisin-like) which is added to salsas, sauces and stews like mole or chilli. We've added ancho chilli flakes to our potato skins above, but we've also sprinkled the flakes on top of glazed parsnips and turned a dried ancho chilli into a hot and sour salsa with rhubarb.

A smoked and dried jalapeño, deep maroon chipotles give a kick of heat but are better-known for their smoky, savoury flavour. They're among the best-known Mexican chillies, sold as powders, flakes, pastes and canned in adobo sauce (a meat marinade also made with tomato, onion and other herbs and spices). There are two types of chipotle – morita and meco – which are smoked at different points as they ripen; moritas are smaller and more widely found, while mecos are fully-ripened and given a longer smoke. Both are widely used in Tex-Mex cooking. After chipotle recipe inspiration? Turn them into a spice rub for short ribs, a paste for mushrooms and leeks or a punchy chipotle chutney pizza topping. 

Pasilla chillies are a relatively mild (usually 1,000 between 2,500 SHU), dried chilaca chilli, which are dark in colour (in Spanish, pasilla means little raisin) with a rich, herby flavour that goes well with red meat and mushrooms. They are often used in sauces, in particular the Mexican mole sauce – Nud Dudhia uses a combination of pasilla, ancho and guajillo chillies for his smoky mole coloradito, which contains chocolate, a perfect partner for pasilla.

Commonly spotted alongside pasilla and ancho chillies, guajillo is another mild (between 2,500 to 5,000 SHU) chilli used widely in Mexican cooking. Reddish brown in colour, its bright, tangy flavour is perfect in salsas for tamales, marinades, pastes and adobo rubs. Ollie Templeton uses guajillo to create an oil for his smoked beetroot dish, while we use them in our smoky, spicy salsa macha. 

Long and slender, de arbol chillies are bright red and fiery – hovering around 30,000 SHU, but with examples of much hotter ratings – and particularly popular in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. They're used to make chilli sauces, to which they bring a grassy and nutty flavour. Santiago Lastra uses them in a salsa with his stuffed panuchos tortillas, and we add them to a smoky harissa with barbecued aubergines.

A relatively mild chilli – around 5,000 SHU – cascabels are hollow and known for the rattling sound they make when dried. They are slightly nutty and earthy, with a dark burgundy colour that adds an aesthetic depth to sauces. They're turned into a tangy dressing for a sea bass ceviche in the recipe above, and add depth in our beautiful short rib chilli. 

Mulato is another form of poblano – like ancho, it's dried, but mulatos are made when the poblano is fully dried, rather than being harvested early. It's dark in colour, almost black, and hotter than ancho. It has notes of chocolate and cherry, and is another chilli that pairs well with chocolate – it's used in Mexico's cherished mole sauce.

Raring to get in the kitchen? Have a browse of our collection of Mexican recipes for inspiration.