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My first taste of Indian food

Tony Cappello

Tony Cappello

Being a spicy food lover I'm not sure why I've never been to an Indian restaurant before but last night I had my first taste of Indian cuisine and I must say I am very impressed by the flavors and spices they use in their dishes. The restaurant we went to had a heat scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the hottest) that each patron can choose for their dish and by default I automatically went with #5. The dish I had was called the chicken tikka masala, which came marinated in yogurt and spices and served in a tomato cream sauce, and when I took my first bite I was blown away by the flavor and heat of the dish.
 
It's the kind of heat only a chilihead can take that would be highly unpleasant for your average Joe who's not used to eating food that spicy. After taking 3 or 4 bites a little perspiration formed on my forehead and my nose got a little runny but I simply could not put my fork down! The naan bread they served with our order was tasty as well. It was good on its own but it tasted amazing when dipped in the spicy sauce.
 
When the waiter came back asking if we wanted refills I asked him if they used habaneros or ghost peppers in their sauce and to my astonishment he said, "Nope. We use cayenne peppers." I was honestly surprised. Most hot sauces sold online using ghost, trinidad scorpion, or even Carolina reapers simply do not compare to the heat level this dish provided.
 
He then told me they make a special lamb dish with ghost peppers I should try next time I'm there so now I'm really anxious to go back and try that dish.
 
When cooking with hot peppers it is all about technique to pull the heat :) I cannot use above Thai for almost ALL my food guests. Indian food uses tons of amazing spices and is very aromatic. 
 
Indian food, although thought of as being very spicy, is actually all about SPICES. Believe it or not, most authentic Indian food is not spicy at all. A good cook knows how to blend a multitude of spices like a good piano player knows how to tickle the ivories. I think its an art form. That being said, the Goa region of India is known for its spicy food. Being that it was a Portuguese colony, it was introduced to hot peppers by the Portuguese. So, if enjoyed the food you tried this time, try Goanese dishes next time, particularly the Vindaloo. Whether its lamb or pork, or whatever meat is your preference, you will be blown away (if it's prepared correctly). Cheers!
 
Lucifer said:
Indian food, although thought of as being very spicy, is actually all about SPICES. Believe it or not, most authentic Indian food is not spicy at all. A good cook knows how to blend a multitude of spices like a good piano player knows how to tickle the ivories. I think its an art form. That being said, the Goa region of India is known for its spicy food. Being that it was a Portuguese colony, it was introduced to hot peppers by the Portuguese. So, if enjoyed the food you tried this time, try Goanese dishes next time, particularly the Vindaloo. Whether its lamb or pork, or whatever meat is your preference, you will be blown away (if it's prepared correctly). Cheers!
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Yes, they had lamb vindaloo on their menu so I definitely want to try that dish as well. Being that it was my first time at an Indian restaurant I went with the "house favorite" and i was not disappointed.
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
I have gotten into making Indian dishes recently. I love that our local markets have all the spices and herbs needed! 
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As have I. It's been 7-8 years now since I got into cooking it. My wife hates it though. We're guaranteed to go to war as soon as I get all my spices out of the pantry. But, I simply love it.
Tony Cappello said:
 
Yes, they had lamb vindaloo on their menu so I definitely want to try that dish as well. Being that it was my first time at an Indian restaurant I went with the "house favorite" and i was not disappointed.
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Glad to hear it. Keep exploring that cuisine, you won't be disappointed.
 
Tikka masala, decent dish, actually a UK Indian dish.
 
Vindaloo is great. It's from the Goa state which used to be Portuguese, and they liked it spicy. I like the vinegar tang and heat.
 
True that a lot of Indian isn't spicy, but a lot is. Depends on the dish and original region.
 
See if you can get phall/phaal! HOTTT!
 
The Hot Pepper said:
Tikka masala, decent dish, actually a UK Indian dish.
 
Vindaloo is great. It's from the Goa state which used to be Portuguese, and they liked it spicy. I like the vinegar tang and heat.
 
True that a lot of Indian isn't spicy, but a lot is. Depends on the dish and original region.
 
See if you can get phall/phaal! HOTTT!
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I had the phaal in NY, at the Bricklane Curry House. The same place they featured on Man vs. Food. Basically it was vindaloo to the power of 10. It was, spicy, delicious and did I mention SPICY! It was great.
 
I see I said the same thing you said about Goa... oops, I just skimmed.
 
But yeah. Ha. To me the phaal there was delicious. I didn't find it challenging to eat at all. I mean it was hotttttt but I loved every bite. Did you get yours?
 
phall_curry_monster.jpg
 
The Hot Pepper said:
I see I said the same thing you said about Goa... oops, I just skimmed.
 
But yeah. Ha. To me the phaal there was delicious. I didn't find it challenging to eat at all. I mean it was hotttttt but I loved every bite. Did you get yours?
 
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No, I didn't finish mine. It wasn't due to the heat level, it's just that I just couldn't finish the actual amount of food. Between the rice, the naan and the beers, it was just too much food. That's great that u were there to actually get that certificate and of course your free beer!
 
Funny you mention that. I had to eat all the rice on my plate and they give you a huge plate of rice on the side, and you put it on the plate yourself. Ha. I put it all on, and had to eat it all, that was the hardest part!
 
We came there on a whim, after drinking beer the whole afternoon. I was pretty much bloated when I got there. It want my intention to do the challenge. I just wanted to try the phaal. But, I went ahead with the challenge anyway, because, why not. It was delicious! I loved the rice too. Basmati rice is my go-to rice for all of my dishes at home. The naan was fantastic. I absolutely must dip the naan into the sauce. I just had the best meal, even if I didn't finish it. Next time I'm in NY I'm going back to beat that phaal. On an empty stomach and no beer.
 
Daaaaaaaamn I love naan bread. Pappadums, not so much :D Not that they aren't bad, I just assumed they were another flat bread and ordered a slew of them, only to be inundated with a giant order of papery crackers.
 
Ras malai, galub jaman and eeerh meh gawd drippy syrupy jalebi
 
miguelovic said:
Daaaaaaaamn I love naan bread. Pappadums, not so much :D Not that they aren't bad, I just assumed they were another flat bread and ordered a slew of them, only to be inundated with a giant order of papery crackers.
 
Ras malai, galub jaman and eeerh meh gawd drippy syrupy jalebi
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I think those papery crackers r for the chutney they serve prior to the meal.
 
Lucifer said:
No, I didn't finish mine. It wasn't due to the heat level, it's just that I just couldn't finish the actual amount of food. Between the rice, the naan and the beers, it was just too much food. That's great that u were there to actually get that certificate and of course your free beer!
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A similar thing happened to me with the special #2 spicy ramen challenge at Orochon Ramen. I knew I wasn't going to finish the entire bowl but I ordered it just to see how spicy it was. IMO spicy food challenges shouldn't be about finishing off a large quantity of food. That's what eating challenges are for. Give me 6 pieces of the hottest hot wings or hand roll sushi you can make and let's see if I can finish it off in 5 minutes or whatever time limit you want to put on the challenge.
 
The phaal is not anything more than your average entree size.
 
Oh, well that's a different story. The bowl of ramen I had to eat was pretty big and I've seen pictures of tiny women finishing it off so it all depends on the individual's capability of eating large portions of food.
 
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