Madras, vindaloo and jalfrezi are the three hot favourites on a British curry house menu. All three bring the heat, but in different ways: madras is rich and red, vindaloo is sharp with vinegar and garlic, and jalfrezi is fresh with green chillies and peppers. Here is how they compare.
The short answer
- Vindaloo is the hottest of the three, and tangy from vinegar
- Madras is rich, red and spicy, made with plenty of chilli powder
- Jalfrezi is fresh and peppery, with green chillies, onions and peppers
- Vindaloo comes from Goa, jalfrezi from the kitchens of the British Raj, and the curry house madras was created in Britain
- Hotter still: phaal, the hottest curry on most menus
Side by side
| Madras | Vindaloo | Jalfrezi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | Medium hot to hot | Hot | Medium hot |
| Where the heat comes from | Chilli powder | Dried red chillies soaked in vinegar | Fresh green chillies and black pepper |
| Sauce | Rich onion and tomato, sometimes coconut or tamarind | Thin and tangy, with vinegar and garlic | Thicker, with chunky onion, peppers and tomato |
| Taste | Deep, earthy, spicy | Sharp, garlicky, fiery | Fresh, peppery, bright |
| Origin | British Indian restaurants, named after Madras (Chennai) | Goa, from a Portuguese dish | Anglo-Indian cooking of the Raj |
What is a madras curry?
Madras is the old name for Chennai in South India, but you won’t find a “madras curry” on menus there. The name and the dish were created in Anglo-Indian cooking and then made famous by British curry houses: a spicy sauce built on chilli powder, onions and tomatoes. On the curry house heat scale it sits in the middle, hotter than a tikka masala and milder than a vindaloo.
Aamna makes two. Her chicken madras uses curry powder, curry leaves and green chillies, softened with coconut milk. Her mutton madras is slow-cooked for two hours with tamarind, fennel seeds and a mix of Kashmiri and hot chilli powders.
What is a vindaloo?
Vindaloo comes from Goa, on India’s west coast, and its name comes from a Portuguese dish of meat cooked with wine and garlic. Goan cooks swapped the wine for vinegar and added plenty of chillies. In post-war Britain the name came to mean simply a very hot curry, and in 1998 it even became an England football chant.
A vindaloo doesn’t need potatoes. Aloo means potato, so some cooks add them, but the name has nothing to do with it. Aamna’s chicken vindaloo is made the Goan way: dried Kashmiri and red chillies soaked in malt vinegar, blended with lots of garlic and ginger, then cooked with toasted whole spices and a little jaggery to round off the sharpness.
What is a jalfrezi?
The name comes from Bengali words meaning spicy and fried. Jalfrezi recipes appear in cookbooks from the British Raj as a way to use up leftover cold meat, fried with chilli and onion. Today it is a curry of green chillies, onions, peppers and tomatoes, and it is a favourite in British and Pakistani curry houses.
Aamna’s chicken jalfrezi marinates the chicken in black pepper and Kashmiri chilli, simmers it with whole green chillies, then adds chunky onion and red, green and yellow peppers at the end so they keep their crunch.
Chicken Madras Curry
A hot, rich chicken Madras made with curry powder, Kashmiri chilli, onions, tomatoes and coconut milk.
Chicken Vindaloo
A hot Goan chicken vindaloo with tangy vinegar and a rich blend of spices. For people who like real heat.
Chicken Jalfrezi
Marinated chicken cooked with vegetables in a spicy, colourful sauce. A bold favourite for anyone who likes some heat.
Madras vs vindaloo
Vindaloo is hotter and tangier, because of the vinegar in the sauce. Madras is richer and rounder, with the heat coming from chilli powder. If you enjoy a madras and want to go hotter, vindaloo is the next step.
Madras vs jalfrezi
These two are close in heat. A madras is a smooth, rich sauce. A jalfrezi is chunkier and fresher, with the heat from fresh green chillies and black pepper, and you can taste the peppers and onions in every bite.
Jalfrezi vs vindaloo
Vindaloo is hotter and sharper. Jalfrezi is lighter and fresher, more like a stir-fry with a sauce. Choose jalfrezi if you want heat with lots of vegetables, and vindaloo if you want the heat to be the point.
And then there is phaal
Phaal was created by curry houses in Birmingham in the 1970s to be hotter than a vindaloo, and it still is. It is made with tomato, ginger and a huge amount of chilli. Most people order it once. See where it sits in the curry heat guide.
How to handle the heat at home
- Fewer chillies. In a vindaloo, cut down the dried red chillies and keep the Kashmiri ones, which give colour with little heat.
- Whole, not sliced. In a jalfrezi, leave the green chillies whole for flavour with less heat.
- Kashmiri instead of hot chilli powder. In a madras, it keeps the red colour and takes the edge off.
- Serve with raita. Yoghurt cools things down better than water.
FAQs
Which is hotter, madras or vindaloo?
Vindaloo. Madras is spicy but rounder, vindaloo is hotter and sharper.
Is jalfrezi hotter than madras?
They are close, and it depends on the cook. A jalfrezi’s heat comes from fresh green chillies, a madras from chilli powder.
Does vindaloo have potatoes in it?
It doesn’t have to. The name comes from a Portuguese dish, not from aloo, the word for potato.
Is madras an Indian dish?
It is named after Madras, now Chennai, but the curry house madras was created in Anglo-Indian and British Indian cooking.
What is the hottest curry?
Phaal is the hottest on a curry house menu. Vindaloo is the hottest of the curries most people order.
