The seeds from dried chiles can be lightly toasted and used as a condiment to give a dish some extra heat. Traditionally, you place a bowl of seeds on the table and diners can add them to their food as desired.

I have never seen this done at anyone’s home or in a restaurant. I got the idea to use the chile pepper seeds from a Mexican cookbook. The cookbook doesn’t call for the seeds to be toasted but I liked the added nutty flavor toasting gives them.