Chicken Phall
Phall, sometimes spelt 'phal', 'phaal' or 'faal', is an extremely spicy curry that originated in the Bangladeshi owned Indian curry houses of Birmingham, England, and was invented for those who wanted their curry to be much hotter than the typical British Indian restaurant (BIR) style vindaloo, which is much hotter than the authentic Goan version. The phall known in the West is just an extremely spicy curry and it should not be confused with a traditional Indian dish from Bangalore which is known by the same name. The curries served at British Indian restaurants and takeaways are not traditional Indian curries, but often times they are named after traditional Indian curries and this leads to some confusion.
Phall curry can vary slightly from establishment to establishment, but the constant theme is that it's always an extremely hot curry, and the hottest one that the establishment makes. It is spiced up using a healthy dose of chilli powder and a generous amount of extremely spicy chillies. Sometimes Habanero or Scotch Bonnet chillies are used, but more often than not superhot chillies are used, and the Naga Morich is the most commonly used variety. This makes sense when you consider that most of the Indian restaurants and takeaways in the UK are owned by Bangladeshis, and that the Bangladeshis hold the Naga Morich chilli in very high regard, often referring to it as the 'queen of chillies'.
Some phall curries have a thickish tomato-based sauce, and others are cooked in the same way as all the other British Indian restaurant style curries using base gravy. When preparing phall curry, it's not uncommon for some chefs to wear a full face respirator mask to protect themselves from the intense fumes from the hot chillies. This is also the reason why I only add the Habanero, Scotch Bonnet or superhot chillies to the pot just before covering it and placing it into the oven. The fumes from hot chillies can be extremely overpowering and if you're not careful they can easily send your whole household into a wild coughing and sneezing frenzy!
One problem I've found when posting a recipe for phall curry is that some people may consider it to be too spicy, and others who consider the eating of such curries to be more of a bravado thing will often claim that it's not hot enough. As with any curry, you can make it as hot as you wish just by adding more chillies. However, if you have to shovel something down because it's too spicy then that's not enjoyment. You either like eating extremely spicy curries or you don't. Personally, a curry containing three teaspoons of chilli powder, two to four good-sized Habanero, Scotch Bonnet or Naga chillies and six to eight green or red finger chillies is about as hot as I like to go. I genuinely enjoy eating very hot curries from time to time and I have nothing to prove and nothing to gain by doing so.
Most of the Indian people I've spoken with said they would never cook or eat a curry as hot as phall. Although some Indian food can be quite spicy, especially the food from Southern India, phall curry is on a whole other level! Only Indian chilli-heads, of which I imagine there are many, would ever consider cooking and eating a curry so hot. While some Indians may like to add a Bhut Jolokia or Naga chilli to their jalfrezi, the average Indian person wouldn't touch a phall curry with a 10-foot pole. It's a misconception that Indian people eat very spicy food, just as it's also a misconception that all Italian food should be laced with garlic. Phall curry is more of a British thing than anything else, and we Brits can be pretty crazy!
I once communicated with a famous Indian chef and he told me that the Naga Morich and Bhut Jolokia chillies are not widely used throughout India. According to him, there is a region in India that doesn't use as many of the traditional Indian spices, but they do use Naga Morich and Bhut Jolokia chillies in small amounts, and this gives their cuisine a distinct flavour and also makes it much spicier than the cuisine from other regions of India. I assume he was referring to Nagaland in Northeast India, where I'm told that the food is much spicier compared to the food from other regions of the country.
Here is my recipe for chicken phall and it has been a favourite curry of mine for many years. Whenever I'm in the mood for something extremely spicy this is always my go-to curry of choice. I normally serve it with plain boiled rice, poppadoms, mixed vegetable pakora, homemade chutney, onion salad, yoghurt mint sauce or cucumber raita. This curry is far too spicy for the average person and should only be served to those who are accustomed to eating extremely spicy food. Forget the lager louts; this one is for all of the Naga louts out there!
Ingredients:
Method:
Notes:
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| Chicken Phall |
Phall curry can vary slightly from establishment to establishment, but the constant theme is that it's always an extremely hot curry, and the hottest one that the establishment makes. It is spiced up using a healthy dose of chilli powder and a generous amount of extremely spicy chillies. Sometimes Habanero or Scotch Bonnet chillies are used, but more often than not superhot chillies are used, and the Naga Morich is the most commonly used variety. This makes sense when you consider that most of the Indian restaurants and takeaways in the UK are owned by Bangladeshis, and that the Bangladeshis hold the Naga Morich chilli in very high regard, often referring to it as the 'queen of chillies'.
Some phall curries have a thickish tomato-based sauce, and others are cooked in the same way as all the other British Indian restaurant style curries using base gravy. When preparing phall curry, it's not uncommon for some chefs to wear a full face respirator mask to protect themselves from the intense fumes from the hot chillies. This is also the reason why I only add the Habanero, Scotch Bonnet or superhot chillies to the pot just before covering it and placing it into the oven. The fumes from hot chillies can be extremely overpowering and if you're not careful they can easily send your whole household into a wild coughing and sneezing frenzy!
One problem I've found when posting a recipe for phall curry is that some people may consider it to be too spicy, and others who consider the eating of such curries to be more of a bravado thing will often claim that it's not hot enough. As with any curry, you can make it as hot as you wish just by adding more chillies. However, if you have to shovel something down because it's too spicy then that's not enjoyment. You either like eating extremely spicy curries or you don't. Personally, a curry containing three teaspoons of chilli powder, two to four good-sized Habanero, Scotch Bonnet or Naga chillies and six to eight green or red finger chillies is about as hot as I like to go. I genuinely enjoy eating very hot curries from time to time and I have nothing to prove and nothing to gain by doing so.
Most of the Indian people I've spoken with said they would never cook or eat a curry as hot as phall. Although some Indian food can be quite spicy, especially the food from Southern India, phall curry is on a whole other level! Only Indian chilli-heads, of which I imagine there are many, would ever consider cooking and eating a curry so hot. While some Indians may like to add a Bhut Jolokia or Naga chilli to their jalfrezi, the average Indian person wouldn't touch a phall curry with a 10-foot pole. It's a misconception that Indian people eat very spicy food, just as it's also a misconception that all Italian food should be laced with garlic. Phall curry is more of a British thing than anything else, and we Brits can be pretty crazy!
I once communicated with a famous Indian chef and he told me that the Naga Morich and Bhut Jolokia chillies are not widely used throughout India. According to him, there is a region in India that doesn't use as many of the traditional Indian spices, but they do use Naga Morich and Bhut Jolokia chillies in small amounts, and this gives their cuisine a distinct flavour and also makes it much spicier than the cuisine from other regions of India. I assume he was referring to Nagaland in Northeast India, where I'm told that the food is much spicier compared to the food from other regions of the country.
Here is my recipe for chicken phall and it has been a favourite curry of mine for many years. Whenever I'm in the mood for something extremely spicy this is always my go-to curry of choice. I normally serve it with plain boiled rice, poppadoms, mixed vegetable pakora, homemade chutney, onion salad, yoghurt mint sauce or cucumber raita. This curry is far too spicy for the average person and should only be served to those who are accustomed to eating extremely spicy food. Forget the lager louts; this one is for all of the Naga louts out there!
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 3 teaspoons chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon kasoori methi
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 400g finely diced white onion
- 3–4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 25g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 600g chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 6–8 fresh finger chillies (red or green), sliced into thin rings
- 12 tablespoons (200g) blended chopped tinned tomato
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 2–4 Habanero, Scotch Bonnet or superhot chillies, chopped
- 2 green cardamoms, cracked
- 60ml hot water
- 1-1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Method:
- Place the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds and black peppercorns into an electric coffee grinder and grind until fine. Add the chilli powder, paprika, turmeric and garam masala and pulse a few more times until everything is well mixed. Stir in the kasoori methi and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat and add the onion. Mix well and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking, until soft and translucent.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, ginger and salt. Mix well and continue to fry for a further 30–40 minutes or until the mixture turns golden brown.
- Once the mixture has turned golden brown add the ground spices and mix well to ensure they are incorporated into the oil. Next, add the chicken and the fresh finger chillies. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. If at any point the spices start sticking to the bottom of the pot before the meat has started releasing its juices then just add a tablespoon of hot water and scrape them off with your spoon. Do not allow the spices to burn or it will ruin the flavour of the curry.
- Add the blended chopped tinned tomato, tomato puree, Habanero, Scotch Bonnet or superhot chillies, green cardamoms, hot water and freshly squeezed lime juice. Mix well, cover and then place into a preheated oven at 200C/400F/Gas 6 and cook for 45 minutes.
Notes:
- The temperatures listed in this recipe are for standard ovens and not fan assisted or convection ovens. Typically, when cooking with a fan assisted oven one would reduce the temperature by 20C/50F, but given how ovens do vary slightly I'll leave it up to you to decide. After all, you know your oven much better than I do.
- Any superhot chillies will work well in this curry. However, my superhot chilli of choice when making this is nearly always Dorset Naga (Naga Morich). I've made it using Trinidad 7-Pot, Trinidad Scorpion, Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, Bhut Jolokia and Carolina Reaper and it has always turned out well. You can also make it using Habanero or Scotch Bonnet chillies if you wish.
- The recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of chilli powder to be added. Whether you use regular chilli powder, extra hot chilli powder or a mixture of both is entirely up to you. Personally, I just use regular chilli powder.
- You can give this curry an added chilli flavour by stirring in one or two thinly sliced fresh chillies (red or green) at the end of the cooking process.
- Always use the best quality chicken that you can afford. Curries made with poor quality chicken will always have an inferior flavour. I repeat this note in all of the meat-based recipes on the blog because it's true. However, it is especially true for chicken. Nowadays, chicken sold at supermarkets in the UK is vastly inferior to the chicken sold at your local butcher. Trust me; it's worth spending a little extra and buying the chicken breast from your local butcher instead.
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