In times of stress and heartache I turn up the heat in my cooking. I hadn’t really faced this until recently, when on my third consecutive day of fiery red curry I paused to consider as I rubbed an ice cube over my chile-scorched fingers. Stress and spicy food seem to have a long-term relationship in my life: in high school I carried a tiny bottle of Tabasco sauce in the breast pocket of my coat at all times, as an antidote to angst-ridden lunchtimes. Years later, in the throes of romantic despair, I became a prolific baker of very, very hot pepper-spiked cheddar muffins.

In fact there’s evidence to suggest that when capsaicin–the “hot” component of peppers–hits the tongue, the brain interprets the experience as pain and releases a surge of endorphins to act as pain relievers. The result is a sort of brief euphoria. Capsaicin also turns up in topical analgesics, because in smaller amounts it creates a warming sensation that can actually dull pain.

These days I’m getting my capsaicin fix from Ju’s Curry Noodle Soup and Goan Vindaloo Fish Curry with Lemon Basmati Rice from Nirmala Narine’s In Nirmala’s Kitchen: Everyday World Cuisine. These are spectacular, potentially tear-jerkingly spicy recipes, but this book is not just for pepperheads. Fifteen countries and world regions are represented, each with a complete menu of six recipes, from aperitif to dessert. Narine’s warm, easy writing is as appealing and interesting as the recipe collection, which ranges from Guinness Stout muffins from the author’s Guyanese Aunty Daisy, to Tibetan butter tea (butter in my tea! joy of joys!). A lengthy and beautifully illustrated glossary of exotic ingredients at the back–including twelve types of chile pepper–is great reading in itself.