Burning chilli sparks terror fear

"A pot of burning chilli sparked fears of a biological terror attack in central London."

This is one of the lead stories in the UK today, I picked it up via the BBC. (And as a side note learned the English spell chili with an extra L -- we didn't have chilies growing up nor pasta, rice or a lot of other things actually.)

The story goes that a Thai restaurant was preparing Nam Prik Pao (should I post the recipe like my colleague in the League of SuperFriends?) and the smell of cooking chilies drove people to call 999 (911 for my American readers) and the area was sealed off.

My mother-in-law does this at home (to make Mexican food) and all the kids run from the house choking, coughing with their eyes streaming with tears. So I understand the reaction of those poor Brits who were taken out by the Nam Prik Pao, but it seems a little extreme to call out the terror cops.

Nam Prik Pao Recipe
Heat garlic and shallots in oil and remove to a bowl
Place red chillies in the pan with some oil and fry until they go dark in colour. Then set aside
Mix shrimp paste with the rest of the ingredients and pound in a mortar and pestle
Return the mixture to the heat until it becomes a thick dark coloured paste

And, yes, I'm back from India-Singapore-Taipei. Jet lag is nipping at my heels and I'm still getting vertigo from all the zooming around. My Singapore layover was early in the morning so I was unable to get a Singapore Sling at Raffles but I did wander through street food eating strange fried things often on a stick (octopus balls win the Food Insanity award).