The other night I had some of the hottest food I think I’ve ever had. The kind of spicy where your eyes are watering, your mouth feels like it’s going to spontaneously combust, and you can barely speak as the heat of the food is entering into your throat.
I don’t like spicy food. I love it. I mean, I really really REALLY love the feeling that I just described above.
What’s even better is the feeling after the heat finally starts to dissipate, and you get the giggles. That’s what I call (and probably a lot of other people call) getting high off heat. Those endorphines are really cranking at that point, and you can’t help but just feel a sense of silly happiness.
So what exactly did I eat? Well – Indian Food. Some lamb phaal at Karavalli to be exact.
If you’ve ever eaten at Karavalli, you know they let you know the level of heat based on little chili peppers on the menu. This bad boy has all of them little chili peppers, and just to kick it up a notch, we told them to bring on the heat.
Phaal is an Indian curry dish. In fact, one of the hottest forms of curry made using a large number of ground standard chili peppers.
I have to say, anyone who likes things spicy should get to Karavalli and try this dish. You can get it with chicken instead of lamb if the lamb weirds you out, but it’s kind of amazing.
Just be prepared, because this will just about knock you out of your seat. Or at least it’ll make you really wish you ordered a tall glass of milk.
4 Comments
If you love spicy food, then you must, MUST, have the harissa at Tara Kitchen in Schenectady. Not only is it perfectly tongue burning hot, it’s full of flavor. It’s a treat for heat lovers.
Also, anything at New World that has Ric’s purple haze sauce on it.
http://www.ilikefood518.com/2015/11/morocco-by-way-of-india-via-pakistan.html
My first time at Karavalli, I underestimated the heat index. My dining companions had a fine time making fun of the sweat pouring down my face, but it was worth it.
Oooh, thank you for posting about this! I also love the burn, and I am often frustrated by the lack of heat in what is advertised as hot food. I also find, as a delicate-looking tiny lady, that I am not taken seriously in restaurants when I ask for serious heat. I’ve resorted to having my husband order what I want, and then we swap plates. Planning a trip to get this SOON.
[…] from Karavalli that’ll take your breath away from the heat, and make you feel a little high. Spicy food can do that, you know! Just look for the little peppers on the menu that indicate spice level. The […]