I’ve always hated korma; I’m not sure what that says about me, but the next time I order Aloo Vindaloo at Gaylord’s Ghirardelli, I’m going to smirk as I think of this survey from England:
One fifth of men questioned for Sky digital and Star Plus’ National Curry Week (October 17 – 24) survey said, they had eaten a vindaloo curry to impress a lady or their friends! When it comes to impressing friends or members of the opposite sex Lancashire has the toughest taste buds with over 20 per cent who have braved a vindaloo in the face of peer pressure. Whilst those in Newcastle seem to have the puniest palette and are least likely (7 per cent) to indulge in hot and spicy dishes to win over friends and lovers!
Women seem to be tongue-challenged when it comes to vindaloos. The findings show four in 10 men like their curries hot or extremely hot compared to only one in 10 women. Two-thirds (62 per cent) of women questioned admit they like mild curries, such as a korma.
Star Plus’ spokeswoman, Suruchi Sthalekar said: “The results are hilarious, I can just imagine the scenes in curry houses and homes across the UK. To think men measure their sexual prowess against the spiciness of their curry. And I would urge all woman to go out there and try vindaloo today to prove we can handle it.”
Handle it? I consummately require it. 😉
Neither Aloo/Beef/Chicken Vindaloo nor Q(k)orma have any curry (haldee) as an ingredient. Infact curry is not used as an ingredient in most of the Mughlai foods. I am curious as to what is the origin of Aloo Vindaloo. Is the origin in Aloo Gosht ?
Near as I can figure, the Brits call all Indian sabzi ‘curry,’ not just the single yellow dish North Indians actually know as curry. It probably started out of not knowing any better, but it’s stuck.
i order aloo vindaloo b/c i’m a vegetarian. if i see chicken vindaloo on a menu and i’m in such a mood, i ask them to substitute potato so that it’s safe for me to gorge on. 🙂
i don’t know the origins of vindaloo. i also didn’t know that curry is supposed to be yellow. at my house, “yellow curry” was my LEAST favourite dish. blech. bring on the reds, oranges and browns, please.
The Brits not only call sabzee (vegetable) dishes curry, but they call all Indian dishes (including Mughlai) curry. I suspect the origin of Vindaloo might be in with aloo. For example Chicken With Aloo or Beef With Aloo.
The term ‘Curry’ extends to some other Asian food such as Thai also. For some reason I think the Brits looked at any dish with a colorful gravy and called it curry. Didn’t really matter what the complex mixture of spices produced. It was spicey, tasty, and had more colors than a set of 64 Crayola crayons.
From the back of a TastyBite box I picked up at Trader Joes:
“Vindaloo is a hot, spicy curry sauce with tart undertones. Vindaloo sauce comes from the state of Goa in Southern India. Goa was an old Portuguese colony and its cuisine is a wonderful fusion of Indian spices and Portuguese recipe.”
Interesting. Now its time to entertain my tastebuds and reminisce about all those Kamat eateries in Goa.
I hate the word curry…
Vindaloo did originate from Goa. The word comes from the Portuguese “vinho d’alho”, or “garlic wine”. It was originally a sour pork curry. It as nothing to do with “aloo” meaning “potato”, although I suspect it often has potato mistakenly added because of this linguistic coincidence.