Phall Explained

Phall
Alternate Name:Fall, faal, phaal, phal, fal
Country:England
Region:Birmingham
Type:Curry
Main Ingredient:chilli peppers (or scotch bonnet, habanero or Carolina Reaper peppers), tomatoes, ginger, choice of protein
Calories:205.5 (chicken)

Phall (Bengali: ফাল||jump), also spelt fall, faal, phaal, fahl or fal, is a curry that originated in the Bangladeshi-owned curry-houses of Birmingham, England and has also spread to the United States.[1] It is not to be confused with the char-grilled, gravyless, finger food phall from Bangalore.

It is one of the hottest forms of curry regularly available, even hotter than the vindaloo, using many ground standard chilli peppers, or a hotter type of chilli such as scotch bonnet, habanero, or Carolina Reaper. Typically, the dish is a tomato-based thick curry and includes ginger and optionally fennel seeds.[2] Phall has achieved notoriety as the spiciest generally available dish from Indian restaurants.[3] It is, however, quite rare to find in comparison to vindaloo (which is usually the staple hottest curry of most Indian restaurants in the UK).

In 2008 in the UK, a charity competition in Hampshire was based on competitors eating increasingly hot phalls.[4] A Season 1 episode of Man v. Food in New York City featured host Adam Richman accepting a challenge involving eating a full serving of phall at Brick Lane Curry House in Manhattan.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lamb phall, vindaloo and madras curry recipes . 2017-10-27 . 2017-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171027231826/http://andyskitchen.co.uk/blogs////blog1.php/recipes/lamb-phall-vindaloo-and-madras-curry-recipe-1-recipe-three-different-curries . dead .
  2. Web site: http://web.archive.org/web/20090226041012/https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3073556. 26 February 2009 . Advice for Eating in an Indian Restaurant in Britain. 2008-07-14 . BBC h2g2.
  3. Koh, Emily: The Phaal Challenge at Brick Lane Curry House: Spiciest Curry Ever? (The Taste of Pain), 23 June 2008. Accessed on 20 June 2021.
  4. Web site: Curry lovers take on hottest ever dish for charity. 5 March 2008 . 2008-07-14 . Southern Daily Echo.