My girlfriend, sweetheart that she is, cooked up some scrumptious Indian chicken dish on Saturday. (No, she’s not Indian, although she loves Indian cuisine.) As with much Indian cuisine, there was generous use of curry spices. The result was quite yummy.
However, two days later, my house still reeks of curry. It literally smells like an Indian restaurant. I’m thinking “oh s**t!” I forgot that curry was none of the most difficult food smells to eliminate from a house. After coming home from work today, I washed every surface in the kitchen with Simple Green, including the ceiling, and covered everything a dose of Simple Solution (enzyme-based pet stain/odor cleaner). Still reeks. Every window of the house is wide open, and it’s 40 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Still reeks.
I’ve heard horror stories from people who struggled to get rid of a curry smell when they bought or rented a residence that was previously occupied by curry fanatics. This is just one time, though. Will the smell from one homemade Indian dish go away on its own, or will it linger on for weeks, months or years?
When I was a teenager, whenever my parents came back from holiday I would lightly dust the carpet with curry powder & tell them that I had been cooking curries every day when they were away. I thought it would hide the pot/tobacco/alcohol/general party smell. With hindsight, they probably knew. I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was.
I don’t get it? What’s wrong with the smell of curry? Curry smells great. It can get a bit musty after awhile, but after one curry simmer? Doubt it’s that bad.
My own farts smell great, too, but I don’t want my house to persistently smell of them.
I knew I’d get at least one “what’s wrong with it?” response. Basically, curry is very pungent, and although the smell can be pleasant in moderate doses, I prefer that I have control over what I smell in my house. I like the Cowboy Junkies, Rush and Fleetwood Mac, but I don’t want to listen to them 24-7 against my will.
It’s also very difficult to sell a house with a strong curry smell, and although I’m not leaving soon, if my girlfriend insists on cooking Indian regularly I’ll probably insist that she do it outside.
I know Febreeze is intended more for fabric, but I doused my kitchen in a can a few minutes ago. I’ve also got a bowl of vinegar sitting at ground zero, the over-the-stove fan filter in the dishwasher, and a fresh gallon of Simple Solution at the ready to apply at full strength should those fail.
What surprises me is that there are thousands of hits for getting rid of curry smells in Google however across the road from me is a large (and very good) Indian restaurant. When the wind is blowing the right way you can smell what they are cooking even though I would be 100 yards away. However when you go there either to eat or order a takeaway, the place doesn’t really smell of curry unless there are people eating nearby. And I’m sure that is true of other places I have been. I wonder how they achieve that?
I’ll order curry tonight and see if I can find out.
Oh I should add I cook curries regularly. The place smells of it for a few days and then it goes away but what happens is that whenever you go out and return it seems to reek because you have forgotten the smell. Same happens with my neighbour’s cats - when I walk in their smell is overpowering, if I am there for an hour I stop noticing it.
devilsknew: Personal insult, which is not permitted in this forum. Period. Not even if they’re intended as jokes, which I assume is the case in this instance, so I’m just issuing a Friendly Reminder rather than an Official Warning. Cease and desist. And you’ve been around long enough to know all this.
Cloth is semi-inaccurate. I mean, anything with “fibres” that can hold the odours in. I don’t think it’s the surfaces in his kitchen that are giving him that whiff.
Actually, sometimes the biggest offenders are the DUM DUM DUM, curtains in the kitchen if you have any hanging over a window. Also, the food splatters a lot so clean under the coil.
I am desi and I do not find this question obnoxious. I don’t want my house to have that extra-pungent restaurant smell, either. And actually, it’s not even an Indian food thing. I hate going to american homes and smelling last night’s potroast.
This is actually why I detest living in carpeted apartments. I find hardwood places so much easier in terms of making this a non-issue.
Seriously, try vacuuming if you have carpets, febreze the curtains and ABOVE ALL, close your closet doors because the worst part is when it gets into your clothes.
I also burn incense. That is one Indian smell I love.