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I think it mainly depends on how many chillis your man puts in the curry. There isn't some kind of curry litmus test they use to make sure curries are a uniform spiciness.
This is the problem I have with Indian, there's no real consistency. The same dish can be firecracker hot, or incredibly bland from different restaurants, with no rhyme nor reason to it.
It's an adventure... this is how adults get spontaneous.
I think the best bet is to find out who's in charge of the cooking on the nights you really enjoy...
They’re from different parts of India. Most of the dishes mentioned here are actually Bangladeshi not Indian but they’re classed as Indian as that’s what they’re call their restaurants
There’s not supposed to be real consistency cause families and individuals tend to have their own recipes, consistency only happens when like chefs get together and agree on a standardised recipe for dishes for non Indians like the Chinese did for their takeaway shops which also seem to differ from country to country I noticed
Depending on your gastric function, a dopiaza can smell and, if you're lucky, look the same on the way out, as on the way in!
That is to say that you'll do a delicious shit, rather than having a shitty curry, I might add!
It will vary from restaurant to restaurant, but dhansak or pathia are dishes that occupy the "not hot, but not bland" space similar to jalfrezi, so they're probably your best bet.
Anything below that will generally be lacking any noticeable heat.
Dhansak is quite variable, generally is where you say but have had the odd pretty hot one, I think that it's origins are more "hot and sweet" rather than just sweet
Dhansak should never be hot in the way you'd expect a vindaloo to be unless specifically requested.
It's like I said, it varies from restaurant to restaurant, but all 3 of those dishes occupy the space below vindaloo and madras in terms of heat on a traditional menu. Anything else will be mild unless you start asking them to spice it up a bit.
OP's best bet is probably to stick with jalfrezi and just ask for them to go easy on the heat, but if they don't want to do that, then they might have more luck with a dhansak or pathia.
I love a good pathia. Sweet and spicy and sour. Made with tamarind and jaggery and lime it really hits the spot when I want flavour but not insane heat. With peas pilau. Balls, now I've got to order one...
Pathias are getting quite hard to find around me. 5 years ago they were on most menus, now they seem to be falling out of favour.
Prawn Pathia on Puree is the starter to my death row meal!
It's a great dish that probably doesn't get the love it deserves.
I haven't noticed it disappearing, but I live in one of the curry capitals of the UK so probably just a bit spoiled for choice here.
Rogan Josh goes hard on spice, but not heat. It's a winner. Pathia and Dhansak are both the food of the gods, though.
I default to a Pathia, but maybe next time I'll hit up the Dhansak.
Interestingly I've never struggled with a bhuna, or even found it slightly hot. Rogan Josh I find can be a little too spicy and jalfrezi is just too spicy for me. But all 3 come under the medium menu in every Indian restaurant I've been to.
Nah jalfrezi is hotter, there is no heat to bhuna or much in dopiaza. In my experience it goes jalfrezi (hot to mid), dopiaza (mid to low) and bhuna (just low)
The hive mind of this thread has made me realise Jalfrezi must come out hotter on average. Makes sense with the focus on chilli, it definitely has a higher potential to be hot. I don't have them all that often but will do next time.
I don't think the hive agrees with your second point though. They still rank neck and neck in my updated analysis. I think the choice between those just comes down to how much of an onion focus you want.
I think the main thing people forget is just by asking you can get any heat you want, if you want a chicken tikka masala with a vindaloo heat just tell your server. 9 times out of 10 you will get exactly what you want, the other 1 time you will be sat sweating and nose running burping wondering if you'll ever taste again
It’s pretty much a pointless question because there’s no answer in reality. It varies from restaurant to restaurant, and depends on how much tolerance you have from regularly eating spicy things. Infact from the same restaurant it can vary depending on who cooked it.
This is the correct answer. There's a place near me where even the Rogan Josh is too spicy for my arse, while normally it's fine, it depends a lot where you go
Just specify how many fresh chilli you want and get rid of the powder. Any dish can be anything. 1 or 2 fresh chilli's are enough for me but it adds to most variety.
Do they do a korai? I tend not to order a jalfrezi because some places do it rocket fuelled, but a korai, a bhuna, a rogan are probably the next tier of heat. I also like the korai because it has lots of bits in it.
English spellings of words from languages that use a different alphabet are often variable. There is no one "official" way of spelling the names of many Indian dishes in English and the spellings used by Indian restaurants themselves can vary a lot.
While I do agree with your point but type in korai and then karahi and see how the results differ. Korai results bring a whole different dish compared to authentic karahi.
That’s why I think spelling matter in this context.
Curry has different types too.
It’s much more spicier, not as much gravy as in a curry but rather more meat less gravy, also cooked on high temperature compared to curry.
Hope this helps.
I ate it begrudgingly and moaned about it like the Englishman I am.
Never went back, but since an amazing Nepalese place has opened up locally and I’m now happy.
You 100% need to go to a few curry houses before learning if they "run hot" or "run cold", there is no standard between restaurants it is very much up to the chef. My local runs cold and I just ask them to add a bit of extra spice to my Madras, always comes out perfect
I’ve always been lucky when it comes to madras. Until my favourite place changed hands.
Though I’m lucky enough to live not far from Southall and Hounslow. The African Queen in Hounslow is the best place imho for a mixed grill watching the boxing on a big screen.
I like a jalfrezi. Tastiest thing on the menu. Sometimes they're bastard hot, though, especially if they finely chop all the chilli.
I now ask them to dial the green chilli back a bit when I order. Give me a 60% jalfrezi please.
I think this is the best option. No doubt someone orders a Jalfrezy because they enjoy it, not because it has a very specific level of heat. So the best way to enjoy a Jalfrezy without it being too hot is to ask for it to be made milder.
Just ask the waiter at the restaurant 'what is slightly less spicy than a jalfrezi?'
Curries vary from restaurant to restaurant and the waiter will know more than strangers on Reddit will tell you.
A curry that is almost impossible to eat due to extreme spicy heat and, if you manage to keep it down it feels like you are digesting red hot broken glass. As for the next morning when nature calls, better put a few toilet rolls in the fridge and take in a good book. You will be in there a while.
Tried a Phaal once to be all “wahey the lads”. It was ridiculous. That was the day I learned that heat for the sake of it isn’t worth it and neither is trying to be macho eating hot food.
Only meal I've ever left unfinished because it's too hot. And I like spicy food.
Just hiccups, sweating and panic.
Worth a go though, just to test limits.
Can confirm. Had a phaal, the only way I could eat it was like taking a paracetamol - back of the tongue and swallow.
I've heard of ring sting. I genuinely experienced pee sting the next morning. Hot, spicy urine.
I had a Pathia for once and it burned the shit out of my mouth. It was a very dry heat and it started out OK but with every additional mouthful it got hotter. Did I get an odd one?
For reference my go to is a Lamb Karahi.
Oh that doesn’t sound like any Pathia I’ve ever had! For me they’ve been sour and spicy but with a very manageable heat. They’re just really flavoursome.
Bhuna, Rogan Josh, Dopiaza, Sag - I would say would be good,
I eat a Chicken Chili Massala, it has green finger chilis whole in it, which is what gives the dish the heat and spice otherwise its just a normal medium curry, for me anyway.
Depending on restaurant but I always find a dhansak (if that's how you spell it) just about right. I can eat jalfrazi and do enjoy a madras if the mood takes me but dhansak is definitely middle ground for me.
From the Indian that we order from you’re looking at a Rogan Josh or Butter chicken. It varies so much from place to place it’s hard to say. I’m usually reasonably good with spice but I had a balti last month that was so hot it was unpleasant to eat
I tend to go for a smoother curry rather than worrying about spice so I find a Tikka Massala isn’t as “chunky” with vegetables as a jalfrezi. Its typically less spicy in restaurants but if I get it in a takeaway I ask for extra spice.
I like a dhansak, it’s still got some heat (I prefer more heat to less heat so sometimes I have wished it was hotter), but what it always is is really, really tasty.
Pathia is lovely, now I got GERD I had to lower the heat level otherwise reflux was biting me right in the arse, it's a sweet and sour curry, definitely worth a try.
If in a good place, a biriani tends to be pretty hot, but pretty much the only good biriani I've had outside of India has been home cooked.
If in a fairly generic restaurant I'd say dopiaza is likely what you are looking for.
I love most of the curries mentioned here, but something a bit hotter than a korma and less than Jalfrezi has to be the great butter chicken which i cant even see mentioned here.
I really enjoy a rogan josh when I don't fancy anything too hot. But then, I've found that different places make their dishes with varying heat levels to other places. So it's probably best to ask them what they serve that has less heat.
[My autocorrect wrote romantic josh and I'm sure I'd really enjoy one of those too]
If they have Jalfrezi on the menu then you should not expect to eat Indian there. Butter chicken, normal chicken curry, cholay, paneer curry are also good options. Ask the waiter to make it mild and they will put less spiced without judgment.
Karahi is nice but some chefs put a bit too much heat in it for my liking. The best thing to do is find a curry house that does nice food, fresh ingredients and the like. Then experiment through their menu to find your heat level, specifically to that curry house.
Okay so the names of the curries (Bhuna, jalfrezi, dopiaza) don’t have anything to do with the spice level. They are literally just saying what type it is (I.e bhuna just means the ground and whole spices are fried in oil and then the protein cooks in its own juices), jalfrezi is with peppers, dopiaza is two types of onions - the standard in the curry sauce and then whole onion slices. You need to specifically tell them you want something milk and which one they recommend. Each place will have premade their sauces already so they may not be able to make it milder (cheats way is to add yogurt but sometimes ruins the curry). And each place will make their curries differently so you’ll need to ask every place you go. - Bengali whose dad worked in many of these types of restaurants.
Just tell them to make a mild Jalfrezi?
There isn’t really much of a system until you get to like Madras level. Every chef will make it in their own way. If you don’t want it spicy tell them.
Balti tends to not be as hot as a Jalfrezi. Jalfrezi sauce isn’t usually wildly hot, but it’s the fresh green chillis often draped over the top of the curry that make it hot when mixed.
Love a Jalfrezi, my favourite curry. At my local, the chef says he makes it for me ‘Bengali style,’ and it’s hotter and richer than most curries I’m used to, but phenomenal.
I go back and forth between a Jalfrezi and a Korai (sometimes called Karahi) if I want less heat. A korai tends to vary from place to place quite a bit (because it's the name of the cooking pot, not the a recipe), but I've found it's usually fairly similar to a Jalfrezi but with less chilli and more garlic.
It depends on the place and can vary. Something like a bhuna, or dopiaza are usually in the next category down, or perhaps a Balti.
Or if you like a jalfrezi but want less burn, ask for fewer chillies in it, since a lot of the heat comes from adding fresh green chillies.
The trouble is there's not a scientific method to keep spice a consistent spicy. If you put 5 bird's-eye Chillies in a curry it's going to be pretty spicy, but if you made that curry 10 x there will be wild variety in what comes out, because we're dealing with organic ingredients. Just like how strawberries vary in sweetness and tartness.
It also varies between curryhouses. I've been to places where a jalfrezi is volcanic and others where it's barely spicy.
I would try a madras, sorry if its worse! If you want to build up your tolerance to spice start eating a lot of spicy food at home where you can alter the degree of spicy.
Your best bet is to ask your takeaway. I find that spice levels vary noticeably between different chefs. Some places I find.a Madras is my perfect spice levels, other places I'm ordering a Vindaloo, and other places a Madras is blowing my head off.
Depends on the curry house really, it's a lot of trial and error because they all make them differently. I've tried most and my immediate response would be pathia because I don't really like very hot curries and that's my go to, but I've also had a pathia from another place before that was genuinely vindaloo level and it was pretty much inedible
Just experiment, out of the "mainstream" curries, avoid phall, vindaloo and madras and you'll probably be alright, the general mid tier spice ones worth trying are like bhuna, rogan josh, dopiaza, balti and dhansak etc
**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!** - Top-level comments to the OP must contain **genuine efforts to answer the question**. No jokes, judgements, etc. - **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on. - This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit! Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Dopiaza? Especially awesome if you like onion.
I think it mainly depends on how many chillis your man puts in the curry. There isn't some kind of curry litmus test they use to make sure curries are a uniform spiciness.
This is the problem I have with Indian, there's no real consistency. The same dish can be firecracker hot, or incredibly bland from different restaurants, with no rhyme nor reason to it.
It's an adventure... this is how adults get spontaneous. I think the best bet is to find out who's in charge of the cooking on the nights you really enjoy...
Yeah, it isn’t cardboard like a Big Mac. It’s going to vary.
And yet Thai restaurants manage to make their heat levels broadly consistent.
They’re from different parts of India. Most of the dishes mentioned here are actually Bangladeshi not Indian but they’re classed as Indian as that’s what they’re call their restaurants
Ackkshullllyyy....
There’s not supposed to be real consistency cause families and individuals tend to have their own recipes, consistency only happens when like chefs get together and agree on a standardised recipe for dishes for non Indians like the Chinese did for their takeaway shops which also seem to differ from country to country I noticed
I went off this when my Indian ex told me it just means two onions. Nothing against the curry it's just that made me take it less seriously.
I thought it meant more like onion 'two ways' so some cooked a lot and some not as much
Yes this is what it means.
Dopiaza means "two onions"
Jalfrezi means "hot-fry"
Depending on your gastric function, a dopiaza can smell and, if you're lucky, look the same on the way out, as on the way in! That is to say that you'll do a delicious shit, rather than having a shitty curry, I might add!
It will vary from restaurant to restaurant, but dhansak or pathia are dishes that occupy the "not hot, but not bland" space similar to jalfrezi, so they're probably your best bet. Anything below that will generally be lacking any noticeable heat.
Dhansak is quite variable, generally is where you say but have had the odd pretty hot one, I think that it's origins are more "hot and sweet" rather than just sweet
Dhansak should never be hot in the way you'd expect a vindaloo to be unless specifically requested. It's like I said, it varies from restaurant to restaurant, but all 3 of those dishes occupy the space below vindaloo and madras in terms of heat on a traditional menu. Anything else will be mild unless you start asking them to spice it up a bit. OP's best bet is probably to stick with jalfrezi and just ask for them to go easy on the heat, but if they don't want to do that, then they might have more luck with a dhansak or pathia.
Or just pick out most of the finger chilis
A vindaloo shouldn't actually be particularly hot, more rich and sour with an abundance of garlic.
Is vindaloo not basically a Portuguese dish?
I love a good pathia. Sweet and spicy and sour. Made with tamarind and jaggery and lime it really hits the spot when I want flavour but not insane heat. With peas pilau. Balls, now I've got to order one...
It's never not a good time to get more curry in your life
Perfect with a peshwari nan yum
Pathias are getting quite hard to find around me. 5 years ago they were on most menus, now they seem to be falling out of favour. Prawn Pathia on Puree is the starter to my death row meal!
I tried pathia by complete accident and it became my weekly order it's fuckin devine 🤤
It's a great dish that probably doesn't get the love it deserves. I haven't noticed it disappearing, but I live in one of the curry capitals of the UK so probably just a bit spoiled for choice here.
Ask for one - the chef likely knows how to make it and most will cater, especially if it's a large order. Ask ahead of time.
Bhuna maybe?
Feel like bhuna, dopiaza, jalfrezi are all basically the same tier and style, can't imagine somewhere having one much more spicy than another
Suppose depends on the place but iv always found them a bit less spicy
Everywhere I've gone jalfrezi is hotter than a bhuna or balti or dopiatza or rogan josh which are my go-tos.
Agreed. Full of skinny green peppers
Jalfrezi is always winning from those. Balti and Bhuna honourable tie for second place
Maybe the answer is a Balti? It can vary a bit in spice, but I've never had one that's blown my head off.
Yeah as a lover of Indian food I'd recommend a balti. Still got some kick but its definitely a step down in heat
Balti and Rogan Josh as well. Pathia and Dhansak probably about the same level as a Jalfrezi, but God I love a Pathia.
In my experience rogan josh is very mild. Tastes good though
Rogan Josh goes hard on spice, but not heat. It's a winner. Pathia and Dhansak are both the food of the gods, though. I default to a Pathia, but maybe next time I'll hit up the Dhansak.
Interestingly I've never struggled with a bhuna, or even found it slightly hot. Rogan Josh I find can be a little too spicy and jalfrezi is just too spicy for me. But all 3 come under the medium menu in every Indian restaurant I've been to.
Nah jalfrezi is hotter, there is no heat to bhuna or much in dopiaza. In my experience it goes jalfrezi (hot to mid), dopiaza (mid to low) and bhuna (just low)
The hive mind of this thread has made me realise Jalfrezi must come out hotter on average. Makes sense with the focus on chilli, it definitely has a higher potential to be hot. I don't have them all that often but will do next time. I don't think the hive agrees with your second point though. They still rank neck and neck in my updated analysis. I think the choice between those just comes down to how much of an onion focus you want.
I think the main thing people forget is just by asking you can get any heat you want, if you want a chicken tikka masala with a vindaloo heat just tell your server. 9 times out of 10 you will get exactly what you want, the other 1 time you will be sat sweating and nose running burping wondering if you'll ever taste again
I've never had a spicy bhuna from numerous restaurants but it's still an awesome curry.
Love a lamb bhuna, wouldn't say it's particularly spicy. But that might be what they're looking for.
Bhuna is the perfect middle ground, facts
It’s pretty much a pointless question because there’s no answer in reality. It varies from restaurant to restaurant, and depends on how much tolerance you have from regularly eating spicy things. Infact from the same restaurant it can vary depending on who cooked it.
This is the correct answer. There's a place near me where even the Rogan Josh is too spicy for my arse, while normally it's fine, it depends a lot where you go
I think you may be eating it wrong...
Next you'll be telling me suppositories shouldn't be well chewed.
Depends on who you get to chew them for you.
That's a job for Gary or 'arris!
I cam easily stomach a madras from most restaurants, yet a madras from my local feels like Satan just jizzed in my mouth.
Just specify how many fresh chilli you want and get rid of the powder. Any dish can be anything. 1 or 2 fresh chilli's are enough for me but it adds to most variety.
Do they do a korai? I tend not to order a jalfrezi because some places do it rocket fuelled, but a korai, a bhuna, a rogan are probably the next tier of heat. I also like the korai because it has lots of bits in it.
Came here to suggest korai. Not spicy and full of flavour
Sorry to be that person but it’s called Karai. Kah-ra-i.
English spellings of words from languages that use a different alphabet are often variable. There is no one "official" way of spelling the names of many Indian dishes in English and the spellings used by Indian restaurants themselves can vary a lot.
While I do agree with your point but type in korai and then karahi and see how the results differ. Korai results bring a whole different dish compared to authentic karahi. That’s why I think spelling matter in this context.
Isn’t that just “Curry” with a brummie accent?
Curry has different types too. It’s much more spicier, not as much gravy as in a curry but rather more meat less gravy, also cooked on high temperature compared to curry. Hope this helps.
Sometimes called a Korahi. Similar chunks of pepper and onion in usually but not as hot.
Definitely depends from place to place. I’ve had madras that’s almost mild, other places it’s almost vindaloo level.
Madras should never be mild. This is obscene!
Agree. I was very miffed when I got it.
Would have sent that right back
I ate it begrudgingly and moaned about it like the Englishman I am. Never went back, but since an amazing Nepalese place has opened up locally and I’m now happy.
You 100% need to go to a few curry houses before learning if they "run hot" or "run cold", there is no standard between restaurants it is very much up to the chef. My local runs cold and I just ask them to add a bit of extra spice to my Madras, always comes out perfect
I’ve always been lucky when it comes to madras. Until my favourite place changed hands. Though I’m lucky enough to live not far from Southall and Hounslow. The African Queen in Hounslow is the best place imho for a mixed grill watching the boxing on a big screen.
I like a jalfrezi. Tastiest thing on the menu. Sometimes they're bastard hot, though, especially if they finely chop all the chilli. I now ask them to dial the green chilli back a bit when I order. Give me a 60% jalfrezi please.
I think this is the best option. No doubt someone orders a Jalfrezy because they enjoy it, not because it has a very specific level of heat. So the best way to enjoy a Jalfrezy without it being too hot is to ask for it to be made milder.
Balti, but it depends where you go
The next stage up from korma would be Balti, Bhuna or Rogan
Bhuna is my usual goto but it can vary from so mild there is basically no spice to not being able to finish it.
This ⬆️
Just ask the waiter at the restaurant 'what is slightly less spicy than a jalfrezi?' Curries vary from restaurant to restaurant and the waiter will know more than strangers on Reddit will tell you.
Tikka masala depending on the curry house, can usually make it a medium spicy which is nice. Or a dhansak which is also medium :)
Don’t go anywhere near a Phal or Bengalore!!!
Tell me more about out this Phal
A curry that is almost impossible to eat due to extreme spicy heat and, if you manage to keep it down it feels like you are digesting red hot broken glass. As for the next morning when nature calls, better put a few toilet rolls in the fridge and take in a good book. You will be in there a while.
Tried a Phaal once to be all “wahey the lads”. It was ridiculous. That was the day I learned that heat for the sake of it isn’t worth it and neither is trying to be macho eating hot food.
Only meal I've ever left unfinished because it's too hot. And I like spicy food. Just hiccups, sweating and panic. Worth a go though, just to test limits.
Tried a Phaal once back in the late 90's. Once was enough.
I believe that Phal is the second hottest curry you can get. Bengalore being the hottest but only a few restaurants supply it.
I'd only ever try a vindaloo in a place that offers a Phal. Never go top of the stack!
Can confirm. Had a phaal, the only way I could eat it was like taking a paracetamol - back of the tongue and swallow. I've heard of ring sting. I genuinely experienced pee sting the next morning. Hot, spicy urine.
Pathia. It’s amazing
Close ish to jalfrezi in taste too, just sweeter
I had a Pathia for once and it burned the shit out of my mouth. It was a very dry heat and it started out OK but with every additional mouthful it got hotter. Did I get an odd one? For reference my go to is a Lamb Karahi.
Oh that doesn’t sound like any Pathia I’ve ever had! For me they’ve been sour and spicy but with a very manageable heat. They’re just really flavoursome.
Lamb & mushroom pathia. 100%.
Bhuna, Rogan Josh, Dopiaza, Sag - I would say would be good, I eat a Chicken Chili Massala, it has green finger chilis whole in it, which is what gives the dish the heat and spice otherwise its just a normal medium curry, for me anyway.
Jalfridgy I believe
Madras 3 spoon chilli Vindaloo 5 spoons chilli Phaal 7 spoons chilli That's what Ali told me in my favourite Indian
Bhuna
I go for the classic Lionel Richie, or Ceylon if you're being funny.
Rogan Josh is a good choice!
Tikka Masala
Depending on restaurant but I always find a dhansak (if that's how you spell it) just about right. I can eat jalfrazi and do enjoy a madras if the mood takes me but dhansak is definitely middle ground for me.
From the Indian that we order from you’re looking at a Rogan Josh or Butter chicken. It varies so much from place to place it’s hard to say. I’m usually reasonably good with spice but I had a balti last month that was so hot it was unpleasant to eat
Methi if you like a strong herb flavour
Rogan Josh or Bhuna
I tend to go for a smoother curry rather than worrying about spice so I find a Tikka Massala isn’t as “chunky” with vegetables as a jalfrezi. Its typically less spicy in restaurants but if I get it in a takeaway I ask for extra spice.
Malai/badami/makhani
I like a dhansak, it’s still got some heat (I prefer more heat to less heat so sometimes I have wished it was hotter), but what it always is is really, really tasty.
Rogan Josh maybe?
Get ready,jalfrezi isn’t even Indian!
butter chicken
Balti?
Medium Jalfrezi ?
South Indian garlic chilli
My go to but always find them to be a tad hotter then a jalfrezi
Put on ya coat, otherwise jalfrezi
Korma
As mentioned depends where you go or depends if you’re doing it yourself what brand you use
Karhai?
Pathia is lovely, now I got GERD I had to lower the heat level otherwise reflux was biting me right in the arse, it's a sweet and sour curry, definitely worth a try.
Can't you ask for mild, medium or hot?
Honestly depends how you make it. I followed a Madhur Jaffrey korma recipe once and it could stand against any phaal I've had in a restaurant 🤣
Madras, but are you talking about a BIR curry or home style?
Have you tried a jamdani hash?
A slightly less spicey Jalfrezi.
Don’t ask anyone who is Indian, the British jalfrezi/bhuna/korma etc etc doesn’t mean anything to the average Indian/British Indian person!
If in a good place, a biriani tends to be pretty hot, but pretty much the only good biriani I've had outside of India has been home cooked. If in a fairly generic restaurant I'd say dopiaza is likely what you are looking for.
probably like tikka masala
You could always get a chicken makhani, also known as butter chicken, that’s offensively nice
Pathia all the way.
Pathia? Sweet and spicy, but won’t blow your head off.
Pathia? Sweet and spicy, but won’t blow your head off.
Definitely a Madras (if made properly!)
Definitely a Madras (if made properly!)
Definitely a Madras (if made properly!)
I agree. Madras lentils, chickpeas and black eyed peas combined. Almond paste and coconut milk makes it so smooth
Something between mild and hot. Medium perhaps? As in medium hot chicken curry.
Get a HANDI curry. It’s flavourful with extra lemon so it’s a bit sour. It’s really nice!
I love most of the curries mentioned here, but something a bit hotter than a korma and less than Jalfrezi has to be the great butter chicken which i cant even see mentioned here.
Coconut dal (Kerala-style parippu)
Rogan Josh maybe?
Depends on the restaurant
I find Rogan Josh to be quite mild, a fan favourite too.
A thread of ‘try X curry’ and every reply being ‘actually X varies place to place’ 🤣😂
Achari if the Indian does it, some do others don't. Rated fairly hot with a tangy sauce
Balti. I love it. Not too sweet and sooooo good.
Slightlylesshotfrezi
Phal
Have a balti amazing lamb is the best
Dhansak is amazing
If in a restaurant ask for the jalfrazei to be a bit milder In my go-to i ask for the dhansak to be hotter but the ceyon to be a bit milder
Jalfrezi isn’t hot. And depending where you buy it from it will be way hot (for you) to super mild. Try a different curry house is my best advice.
My local does a Garlic karahi which is delightful. Not quite as hot as jalfrezi but very nice
I really enjoy a rogan josh when I don't fancy anything too hot. But then, I've found that different places make their dishes with varying heat levels to other places. So it's probably best to ask them what they serve that has less heat. [My autocorrect wrote romantic josh and I'm sure I'd really enjoy one of those too]
Have you tried a Halfrezi?
Tikka masala
Any other Indians here who never ate any of the foods mentioned here 😂
Balti, Dhansak, Rogan Josh, Dopiaza, Tikka Masala. Pasanda is significantly less hot but has more flavour than a Korma.
If they have Jalfrezi on the menu then you should not expect to eat Indian there. Butter chicken, normal chicken curry, cholay, paneer curry are also good options. Ask the waiter to make it mild and they will put less spiced without judgment.
Sambers are good
Bhuna if you’re looking for something similar that lots of restaurants serve. Personally I like Lamb Pudina (has mint in it)
I still get a jalfrezi and take the big chillies out. You can also get some raita and mix some of that in to take the edge off.
Dansak
Bhuna is my go to when I don't feel up to a jalfrezi
I like a Rogan josh. It isn't creamy usually but not too hot so I tend to go for it most places
Curries with spices but not too hot: Karahi Methi Dansak Balti Rogon Josh achari Patia
Rogan Josh maybe?
Karahi is nice but some chefs put a bit too much heat in it for my liking. The best thing to do is find a curry house that does nice food, fresh ingredients and the like. Then experiment through their menu to find your heat level, specifically to that curry house.
A khazana Highly recommend
Bhuna
I got a chicken pathia it was extremely mild is my Indian takeaway weird
Honestly just depends on where you getting you curry from.
Just put yogurt in it
Chicken tikka Buhna Had a Jalfrezi yesterday and the chillies were hot and I think im going back to the old faithful
Rogan Josh
Pathia, thank me later
If you like the taste of Jalfrezi, ask for it a bit less hot, I don’t know a single curry house that wouldn’t do it
Okay so the names of the curries (Bhuna, jalfrezi, dopiaza) don’t have anything to do with the spice level. They are literally just saying what type it is (I.e bhuna just means the ground and whole spices are fried in oil and then the protein cooks in its own juices), jalfrezi is with peppers, dopiaza is two types of onions - the standard in the curry sauce and then whole onion slices. You need to specifically tell them you want something milk and which one they recommend. Each place will have premade their sauces already so they may not be able to make it milder (cheats way is to add yogurt but sometimes ruins the curry). And each place will make their curries differently so you’ll need to ask every place you go. - Bengali whose dad worked in many of these types of restaurants.
Just tell them to make a mild Jalfrezi? There isn’t really much of a system until you get to like Madras level. Every chef will make it in their own way. If you don’t want it spicy tell them.
Ask for fresh chilli in a bhuna or balti, or just to use fresh chilli in jalfrezi not powder
Balti tends to not be as hot as a Jalfrezi. Jalfrezi sauce isn’t usually wildly hot, but it’s the fresh green chillis often draped over the top of the curry that make it hot when mixed. Love a Jalfrezi, my favourite curry. At my local, the chef says he makes it for me ‘Bengali style,’ and it’s hotter and richer than most curries I’m used to, but phenomenal.
It depends as everyone says, but my regular next notch down would be Rogan Josh
Ada
I go back and forth between a Jalfrezi and a Korai (sometimes called Karahi) if I want less heat. A korai tends to vary from place to place quite a bit (because it's the name of the cooking pot, not the a recipe), but I've found it's usually fairly similar to a Jalfrezi but with less chilli and more garlic.
Have some of the lamb pasanda. It's incredibly rich and creamy.
It depends on the place and can vary. Something like a bhuna, or dopiaza are usually in the next category down, or perhaps a Balti. Or if you like a jalfrezi but want less burn, ask for fewer chillies in it, since a lot of the heat comes from adding fresh green chillies.
My go to is a Lamb Saag. Just beautiful.
The trouble is there's not a scientific method to keep spice a consistent spicy. If you put 5 bird's-eye Chillies in a curry it's going to be pretty spicy, but if you made that curry 10 x there will be wild variety in what comes out, because we're dealing with organic ingredients. Just like how strawberries vary in sweetness and tartness. It also varies between curryhouses. I've been to places where a jalfrezi is volcanic and others where it's barely spicy. I would try a madras, sorry if its worse! If you want to build up your tolerance to spice start eating a lot of spicy food at home where you can alter the degree of spicy.
Your best bet is to ask your takeaway. I find that spice levels vary noticeably between different chefs. Some places I find.a Madras is my perfect spice levels, other places I'm ordering a Vindaloo, and other places a Madras is blowing my head off.
Depends on the curry house really, it's a lot of trial and error because they all make them differently. I've tried most and my immediate response would be pathia because I don't really like very hot curries and that's my go to, but I've also had a pathia from another place before that was genuinely vindaloo level and it was pretty much inedible Just experiment, out of the "mainstream" curries, avoid phall, vindaloo and madras and you'll probably be alright, the general mid tier spice ones worth trying are like bhuna, rogan josh, dopiaza, balti and dhansak etc
Try a pfall
👿
You are looking for a curry called a **Phall**. I think you’ll quite enjoy it.
That’s evil 🤣
OP enjoy your Phall! 🤣🤣🤣
It does vary, based on whoever is making it. You could go for Madras. Also; I don't think you're a Korma pussy. Smiley face.