When people say indian food is spicy?

Question

Do they mean spicy as in hot or it has a lot of spices or both?

I've never had Indian food but I love Spicy hot foods.

Answer 1

Its both. Indian cooking uses a lot of spices and some of it can be hot as well. Quite a few do not differentiate between the two.

Some regions in India use of lot of chillis (peppers) and their food can get hot. If you go to restaurants in the US and maybe most countries, they will ask you for Mild, Medium or Hot.

Not sure where you are but here is a guide to Indian Restaurants  around the world

http://www.indianfoodsguide.com/indian-f...

Answer 2

i didnt think it was spicy hot, but i think they add spices to enhance flavoring. i know a lot of people who enjoy indian food...you should try it sometime :)

Answer 3

both.

it's got lots of spices that can sometimes be spicy.

Answer 4

They normally mean that its hot..... Indian food can be made to be mild if heat is a problem for you.

Answer 5

they could probably mean spicy in both ways but i think its really spicy like its hot and burns your tongue!

Answer 6

I love indian food.

Yes, it can be very very very very very hot.

It is also LOADED with spices.

(tumeric, cloves, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, mustard seeds, nutmeg, cilantro, chile pepper, black pepper).

They also use an acidic element, like mango powder, or lemon juice, or tamarind juice in their sauces.

If I were you I would try aloo choley or channa masala if you are vegetarian (both are garbanzo beans in a curry sauce).

I'd try a lamb or chicken curry if you eat meat, just to get a basic idea, but then give chicken makhani or lamb vindaloo a try for something different.  Try potato samosas and naan (bread) with the meal.

Makhani is in a creamy tomato sauce with methi leaves (fenugreek leaves), and vindaloo is like a curry, but with mustard seeds and mustard oil and sometimes potatoes added.  Vindaloo is exceedingly hot.

It comes from Goa...a part of India that had been occupied by the Portuguese way back when.  They originally only made it with PORK chops, believe it or not.  You don't see much pork in Indian restaurants.  I personally prefer it made with lamb.

I love hot spicy food too.  Indian food will make your eyelids sweat, and will make you dizzy, and very happy.

Answer 7

I've recently just tried Indian food and I don't think it's all that spicy. I think they use a lot of different spices and that's why people think it's spicy. I too love spicy food and curry so I'd have to say Thai food is more spicy.

Answer 8

well sort of both, tika has spices but very very mild spices, not hot at all, anything with spice in it could be considered "spicey". Go with a nice vindaloo..that'll get ur spicey senses tingling, theres another one hotter than it that I had once (forgot the name) it took me like 2 hrs to eat it..I was just sitting there "Milk, food, milk, food".

Answer 9

It has lots of different spices and some of them can be quite hot.

Answer 10

Indian foods are cooked with a lot of spices. In 1604, the British set up East India Trading Company to trade in Indian Spices. The initial spices selected were: Black Peppercorn, Long Pepper (Pippali), Cinnamon, Cassia, Cloves, Mustard. Later on Nutmeg, Mace, and Black tea were added. For some reason the most popular spices used in India at the time (Saffron and Turmeric) were not used for trade. By the way, up to 13th century, Cinnamon Cloves Nutmeg were used as a preservatives and not cooking.

There were eight different East India Trading Corporations from various countries. British were so succesful that they decided to colonize India in 1773 and elimianted most of the competion.

It was not until sixteenth century that Portuguese traders would introduce the Red Chilies to India. Red chili were discovered near Mexico. You can see Indian food was spicy but could not be 'red chili hot' at that time. By early seventeenth century, Indians developed a taste for red chiliis, and it became just another ingredient. Pippali, a mild pepper used in cooking got replaced with highly pungent red chilies

In the royal kitchens of regional Nawabs, Khansama (Chef) and Bawarchi (cook) were expert spice mixologist. Galawati Kebab is not 'red chili hot' but used over hundred spices. On average, an Indian curry uses about 9 spices (excluding chili peppers, and salt): Turmeric, Cumin, Coriander, Fenugreek, Dried Ginger, Cinnamon, Cloves, Black pepper, Dried Mango powder. Now a days, we have basic spice blends availabe: Curry powders and Garam Masala. The Khansama does not have to be a spice mixologist, just select two spice blends. These spice blends do not have 'red chilies' The red chilie heat is still left to the Kahansama or Bawarchi.

North Indian foods are spicy but 'not red chili hot'. South Indian foods are spicy and red chili hot

In short, the answer to you question is that Indian foods use a lot of spices in cooking, but they are not necessaily 'red chili hot'.