Definitely give the balti a go if you are in a standard curry house but avoid the phall - I lived not far from the Balti Triangle for a while in the eighties and nineties and it was a revelation.
However, curry in Britain has moved on quite a bit since then and we have a lot more restaurants serving more authentic Indian food. So, if you can, check out good local Bengali, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, etc eateries - I’m an especially big fan of the last one as me default curry house is a locals Nepalese that has won a number of awards. I also have a top vegetarian Indian restaurant not a million miles away and their food is amazing.
Now I’m proper starving - mid-afternoon curry binge anyone?
The thing about a phall is that it’s not, like, a real dish. It’s the item they put on the menu for pricks who just want to be a hard man and “order the hottest thing on the menu”. It’s just an invitation for the chef to make you something inedible as a punishment for your hubris, but that also means it’s not usually a very nice actual curry.
If you want a very hot curry that is still an actual tasty curry, vindaloo is generally your man.
Vindaloo is based loosely on a Goan dish of the same name, but like all of them the British version bares only a passing resemblance to its authentic relative (which really has more in common with the Bangladeshi style of cooking).
It’s just an invitation for the chef to make you something inedible as a punishment for your hubris, but that also means it’s not usually a very nice actual curry.
That’s it - it’s a stunt or challenge item. You also don’t have to order it directly, you can be an insufferable prick to the waiters or feed the fish bits of your starter.
You maniac! Make sure you have a spare toilet on standby.
Have you had a vindaloo? That’s not for the unwary. I remember a night out in Brum where we went to a curry house. The Indian guys ordered vindaloos and some of the more inebriated in the party got over-enthusiastic and also ordered it. I’ve never seen so much suffering in a restaurant - I thought the waiters might have to bring out buckets to catch all the sweat. Never seen anyone try a phall (can’t recall going anywhere that offered it in decades as it is more of a challenge curry) but I am reliably-informed that it looks like the final scenes in Indiana Jones. Probably.
I have. The problem I encounter in curry restaurants is that they hardly ever make it as spicy as I want. It’s very rare to find a place where I can get curry that makes me sweat.
Thanks for teaching me something! I want to try all of those curries now, I don’t think I’ve ever had the balti, madras, jalfrezi or phall.
Definitely give the balti a go if you are in a standard curry house but avoid the phall - I lived not far from the Balti Triangle for a while in the eighties and nineties and it was a revelation.
However, curry in Britain has moved on quite a bit since then and we have a lot more restaurants serving more authentic Indian food. So, if you can, check out good local Bengali, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, etc eateries - I’m an especially big fan of the last one as me default curry house is a locals Nepalese that has won a number of awards. I also have a top vegetarian Indian restaurant not a million miles away and their food is amazing.
Now I’m proper starving - mid-afternoon curry binge anyone?
It’s breakfast time for me, but I would still eat a curry. It’s one of my favorite dishes, and the spicier, the better.
Why avoid the phall?
It’s the hottest standard curry in the UK and has to be served on asbestos plates to stop it burning through the table. Possibly.
I’ll take 3.
The thing about a phall is that it’s not, like, a real dish. It’s the item they put on the menu for pricks who just want to be a hard man and “order the hottest thing on the menu”. It’s just an invitation for the chef to make you something inedible as a punishment for your hubris, but that also means it’s not usually a very nice actual curry.
If you want a very hot curry that is still an actual tasty curry, vindaloo is generally your man.
Vindaloo is based loosely on a Goan dish of the same name, but like all of them the British version bares only a passing resemblance to its authentic relative (which really has more in common with the Bangladeshi style of cooking).
That’s it - it’s a stunt or challenge item. You also don’t have to order it directly, you can be an insufferable prick to the waiters or feed the fish bits of your starter.
Learning so much about curry this week.
You maniac! Make sure you have a spare toilet on standby.
Have you had a vindaloo? That’s not for the unwary. I remember a night out in Brum where we went to a curry house. The Indian guys ordered vindaloos and some of the more inebriated in the party got over-enthusiastic and also ordered it. I’ve never seen so much suffering in a restaurant - I thought the waiters might have to bring out buckets to catch all the sweat. Never seen anyone try a phall (can’t recall going anywhere that offered it in decades as it is more of a challenge curry) but I am reliably-informed that it looks like the final scenes in Indiana Jones. Probably.
I have. The problem I encounter in curry restaurants is that they hardly ever make it as spicy as I want. It’s very rare to find a place where I can get curry that makes me sweat.
You’re clearly built different to the rest if us - these days I value flavour over heat.
Good luck with having a phall - do report back.