The Red chili features heavily in the cuisine of the Goan region of India, which was the site of a Portuguese colony (e.g., vindaloo, an Indian interpretation of a Portuguese dish). Chili peppers journeyed from India, through Central Asia and Turkey, to Hungary, where it became the national spice in the form of paprika.

An alternate, although not so plausible account (no obvious correlation between its dissemination in Asia and Spanish presence or trade routes), defended mostly by Spanish historians was that from Mexico, at the time a Spanish colony, chili peppers spread into their other colony the Philippines and from there to India, China, Indonesia. To Japan, it was brought by the Portuguese missionaries in 1542, and then later, it was brought to Korea.

Guntur chilies is a group of cultivars originating in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India. They are exported to Asia, Canada, and Europe. The Guntur district is the main producer and exporter of most varieties of Chilies and chili powder in India to countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Middle East, South Korea, U.K. and USA & Latin America. Chilies have various colors and flavors because of the level of Capsaicin in them. Guntur chilies form an important part of curries and various popular dishes of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.