Ameliorating the "heat" of a curry

[rafletcher]

Well I made a veg curry last night, and added to the large pot 3 small dried chillis, de-seeded and finely chopped.  But whilst it fine for me, it's too much for my wifes tastes.

So, when next serving, what are the panel suggestions for reducing the heat of her portion?  Added yogurt is one I guess, also possibly ground almonds (though it gets a bit "pasty") or dessicated coconut.

[Jacomus]

Or the slightly sub optimal 'add proper amounts of spice to your portion only' that preserves the non-marital bliss in our house

[tonycollinet]

Anything to mix with the curry, but on the plate rather than in the pot - Yougurt as you suggested, mango chutney, fruit etc.

[geraldc]

Thais use sugar to balance chilli.

[why1040]

This is what I was told too...sugar balances out chilli if you've put too much in 

[Kathy]

Serve with coconut rice (or sticky boiled rice) - the starch helps "bind" the hot chemicals from the chilli. Or try making curries which don't just rely on chilli for heat, but use a blend of ginger and tamarind and spices - I find the "heat" from these far more tolerable.

[rafletcher]

The "individual spicing" route has been one I've used, but it's a faff, plus I tend to add Encona chilli sauce to pep mine up, which is ok in chillies but a bit "raw" for a decent curry.

Sugar was one thought I had, another was possibly butter - like drinking milk / addding yogurt, the fats coat the receptors allegedly.

[Hot Flatus]

Chopped tinned tomatoes in a differant pan for 20 minutes?

[Phil]

Make up a batch of mild masala gravy and stir that in?

[Mrs Pingu]

The 'hotness' compound (ICBA looking it up at the mo) is fat soluble, so adding fatty stuffs means it partitions into the fatty stuffs, rather than the fat in one's tissues.

[geraldc]

You could cook it slightly milder next time, and if you want heat, sprinkle finely sliced fresh green chilli over your serving.

The heat from chilli isn't from the seeds, it's from the little white bits inside the chilli.

[Gruff]

Get a new wife, current one is clearly defective.

[RJ]

Or the slightly sub optimal 'add proper amounts of spice to your portion only' that preserves the non-marital bliss in our house

This works for small people too.  Much easier to pep up individual portions of a blander dish than it is to calm down portions of something strongly flavoured (see also: salt).

[Tewdric]

"Dilute" hers with coconut milk?

[MercuryKev]

I've had similar issues with my wife and I've managed to get round it by spiking most of her food over the past couple of years with chillies, while gradually upping the heat.  She is now quite capable when it comes to handling the heat and sometimes I think she even enjoys it

[clarion]

Yoghurt definitely works.  I've found that softening the heat by adding parsley and cumin (and a touch of cinnamon sometimes) can help.

[Jacomus]

I've had similar issues with my wife and I've managed to get round it by spiking most of her food over the past couple of years with chillies, while gradually upping the heat.  She is now quite capable when it comes to handling the heat and sometimes I think she even enjoys it

I do this too, though getting over enthusiastic can result in problems.

Which also reminds me of the time we made burrittos for dinner and lunch the next day. Naturally I deployed a heavy dousing of weapons grade Habanero sauce on my burritto before sticking them in the fridge... and taking her un-spiced burritto to work the next morning.  So my lunch was utterly bland and hers completely inedible.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I'd suggest yogurt or some similar dairy substance (curd for instance, possibly even cottage cheese!) on the plate to mix with the hot curry. Coconut milk would also cool it down but might alter the taste of the curry too much, depending on what sort of curry it is.