Phall (Bengali: ফাল, lit.'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.

Phall
Chicken phaal from the Brick Lane Curry House, New York
Alternative namesFall, faal, phaal, phal, fal
TypeCurry
Place of originEngland
Region or stateBirmingham
Main ingredientschilli peppers (or scotch bonnet, habanero or Carolina Reaper peppers), tomatoes, ginger, choice of protein
Food energy
(per serving)
205.5 (chicken) kcal

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.

References

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  1. ^ "Lamb phall, vindaloo and madras curry recipes". Archived from the original on 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  2. ^ "Advice for Eating in an Indian Restaurant in Britain". BBC h2g2. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  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. ^ "Curry lovers take on hottest ever dish for charity". Southern Daily Echo. 5 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-14.