The pasilla chile or chile negro is the dried form of the chilaca chili pepper, a long and narrow member of species Capsicum annuum. Named for its dark, wrinkled skin (literally “little raisin”), it is a mild to hot, rich-flavored chile.
Often confused with a Poblano, it typically lies in what the poblano becomes when dried. Ancho peppers. As anchos, poblanos share a similar enough look to pasilla chilies for the confusion to take hold. Both are dark and wrinkly, but there are tells. Pasilla tend to be longer and slimmer with a deeper shade of brownish-black. Anchos tend to be much wider and stouter, while featuring tints of dark red among the browns of the dried chilis skin.