# Vindaloo **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920 "2011-03-25T02:50:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/41 "2011-03-27T05:19:33Z")
Yes I see how that works. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/42 "2011-03-27T15:17:39Z")
> [@Ceejaytee](#): > > I’ve made pork vindaloo, from Madhur Jaffrey’s book. It’s fantastic. I haven’t made it lately because our kids like spicy, but not that spicy. Now I’m thinking it’s time to make it again–they can eat chicken nuggets. The recipes I’ve seen use cayenne pepper for the heat, so presumably you can cut the amount you use to make it mild enough for the children. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/43 "2011-03-27T17:00:14Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I have to confess, I love the “wimpy” vindaloo you find on excellent Indian buffets. It is such a flavorful mixture of spices before the hot spices are added, that it seems a shame that it is relegated to the world of stunt foods exclusive to those who are into the endorphin rush from pain. Give me mild anything vindaloo over any curry, masala or korma. While I like mine hot, vindaloo does (or should) have a very distinctive flavor from the other “typical Indian menu” options, and it’s not the heat (or at least not just the heat.) It’s got a sour component from the vinegar used that distinguishes it. Also, fenugreek seeds are a significant component of the paste. Anyhow, the answer to the OP is I like it all but, when I can find it, or when I make it myself, it’s pork vindaloo. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/44 "2011-03-27T18:51:55Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > It’s not readily available here because it’s not popular because it’s not readily available. > > . I go to Asian food stores to find it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/45 "2011-03-27T19:01:20Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > I go to Asian food stores to find it. Mexican places around here will often carry goat, too. And I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it in some Middle Eastern markets as well. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/46 "2011-03-27T19:08:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Tindaloo, or phall? I was watching an episode of _Man vs. Food_ the other night, and the host was having a phall in New York. I got chicken phal a couple of times in New York and it was like a descent into hell. So, so hot. But amazingly good. Dhaba, 28th and Lex, highly recommend. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/47 "2011-03-28T15:05:46Z")
Ugh, I looked up a phal recipe and my stomach hurts just looking at it. I remember an incident from my childhood where my parents accidentally made a bhaji from habanero peppers we brought back up to BFE Quebec from Montreal, (we had to go down every 2 months with our friends the Turks for the four of them to survive being away from their ethnic groceries). My memory is indelibly etched with my dad taking one bite and then screaming for my mom to not let me or my sister even touch our plates and the two of them knocking the plates to the ground in a frenzy so my sister and I wouldn’t even take a bite. They didn’t even know what habanero peppers were…my parents are from Mumbai and lived all over India so I’m thinking this phal stuff might be a British invention. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/48 "2011-03-28T16:38:21Z")
> [@anu-la1979](#): > > Ugh, I looked up a phal recipe and my stomach hurts just looking at it. I remember an incident from my childhood where my parents accidentally made a bhaji from habanero peppers we brought back up to BFE Quebec from Montreal, (we had to go down every 2 months with our friends the Turks for the four of them to survive being away from their ethnic groceries). My memory is indelibly etched with my dad taking one bite and then screaming for my mom to not let me or my sister even touch our plates and the two of them knocking the plates to the ground in a frenzy so my sister and I wouldn’t even take a bite. They didn’t even know what habanero peppers were…my parents are from Mumbai and lived all over India so I’m thinking this phal stuff might be a British invention. According to Wikipedia and [indiacurry.com](http://indiacurry.com), phall (at least that form of phall) is indeed a UK Indian invention. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/49 "2011-03-28T16:49:44Z")
> [@cuauhtemoc](#): > > I got chicken phal a couple of times in New York and it was like a descent into hell. It was a phall from grace? ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/50 "2011-03-28T17:17:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Tindaloo, or phall? I was watching an episode of _Man vs. Food_ the other night, and the host was having a phall in New York. An American Doper posted that he’d only heard the term Tindaloo in the U.K. Further down thread someone says that they enjoy the milder curries. Totally with that, although my favourite is Jal Fraisi, I love a Biriyani or a Balti. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/51 "2011-03-28T22:31:48Z")
Missed this thread when it was first posted. I’ve only ever had chicken and lamb. I really don’t like lamb in general (the restaurant was out of chicken 😕), but I thought it tasted pretty good in a vindaloo. Still like chicken vindaloo better. Never had beef (my stomach doesn’t deal with beef very well), curious to try goat after this discussion, but I don’t think my Indian restaurant of choice carries it. (Indian Cafe in Irving, TX, off Belt Line Road near I-635, makes a delicious vindaloo, if you’re ever around there.) ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/52 "2011-03-29T13:26:42Z")
A pair of our interns from Hyderabad had never heard the term Vindaloo. They said they were expecting something with potatos since that’s what “aloo” meant to them. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/53 "2011-03-29T13:51:41Z")
According to a certain online encyclopedia, the name’s derived from the Portugese dish Carne de Vinha d’Alhos (a stew with pork, wine and garlic). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920/54 "2011-03-29T14:34:05Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > A pair of our interns from Hyderabad had never heard the term Vindaloo. They said they were expecting something with potatos since that’s what “aloo” meant to them. “Aloo” does mean potato, and potatoes are often part of vindaloo, but, so far as I know, that’s just a coincidence/false cognate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vindaloo/575920.md?page=2)