
Madras is about as hot as I can manage. Had a vindaloo last year. My wife and kids were laughing at me as I slowly went red and started to sweat profusely

What's yer favourite ? I like madras, dansak, rogan josh.
Absolutely, there are no prizes for eating the hottest dish on the menu. One of the best curries I had was in an uninspiring looking place in Southall. We were taken by an Indian friend of may Father in Law's the food was great which is surely the whole point.slinger wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 6:25 pm Why do people think that curry has to be hot? Indian waiters piss themselves laughing at our attempts to down a Phal after a skinful of lager without exploding, or simply melting into a pool of sweat on the floor.
Curry is about flavour(s), and if it's all burn and no flavour then it's just a waste of a nice bit of lamb, beef, whatever.
Try some of the gentler, flavourful, Thai curries that are around these days, or Sri Lankan, or a nice Goan fish curry, and If you ever get the chance to try Jamaican Goat curry (made properly, by Jamaicans) go for it. It's one of the nicest curries I've ever eaten.
The best tip I ever got about Indian curry was from an Indian mate of mine when I worked in the City, and it was simply "look for the places "we" eat. If you see Indians eating in a restaurant it's the one you want." At the time we were sitting in a crappy little cafe-cum-restaurant called Mumtaz with Formica-topped tables and no readily identifiable decor. The food was great, and we were surrounded by Indians. If you've ever wondered why there are so many 'Mumtaz' restaurants, by the way, it's because Mumtaz means "the best" or "the distinguished" or simply "excellent."
Brings back memories.