Making food is like an art. Just like in painting one needs a proper balance of colours to get the most beautiful painting on canvas, a synthesis of balanced flavours is also very important to make the food delicious. However, it is not as easy as it may seem and knowing spice precision is something that doesn't come very naturally to everyone. Making the mistake of adding more spices than needed is a very normal error.
Thankfully, this is not a mistake that cannot be fixed easily. If you accidentally add too much spice to a curry, and are worried that it will lead to acidity or issues for kids and the elderly, then mellowing it down with certain other foods may be a good idea. Let's look at eight foods that can be added to your curry to balance the excess spice.
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* Green Leafy Vegetables
Green leafy vegetables are already very healthy and adding some chopped green leafy vegetables like spinach, fenugreek leaves and mustard leaves can be a great idea to reduce the level of spices in your food. Not only does it make the food a lot more tolerable in terms of spiciness, but also adds so much nutrition. Most of the green vegetables have a high content of oil, vitamin C, and antioxidants. In the winter season, a lot of green vegetables are abundantly available so it's a great option.
* Coconut Milk
Coconut milk is very popular among vegans and it's quite delicious. The people of South India have been using coconut milk for many years to give a smooth texture to the food and also add a bit of creaminess. Coconut milk can help in balancing the spice level in your food and also add a slightly sweet flavour to the food. This flavour compliments the spiciness of the food very well.
* Cashews And Almonds
Dry fruits and nuts have a crunchy flavour and also make a lot of desserts and curries very delicious. In the northern part of India, the paste of cashews is used in making gravy for a lot of curries. Grinded nuts have a very creamy consistency and nutty flavours. If by any chance one adds more red chillies and green chilli than needed then all that has to be done is adding some grinded dry fruits to neutralize the flavours.
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* Sugar
Sugar is a very obvious alternative if one wants to balance the level of spices in your food. The sweetness of sugar helps in combating the spiciness in the curry. People in Gujarat and West Bengal add sugar to a lot of special delicacies. The combination of sweet and salt is tempting and everyone will love it once they try the combination. Other than sugar, some jaggery can also be used which is a healthy alternative to white sugar.
* Tomatoes
Adding some fresh tomatoes to a rather spicy gravy is also a great option to balance the excessive spice in your food. The tanginess in tomatoes overlaps the spiciness of the gravy instantly and also gives it a very smooth texture. tomatoes are also a rich source of vitamin C. So adding tomatoes in gravy is also very healthy.
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* Potatoes
Potatoes are a very popular option that are used around the world for adding excess salt as well as spice. By adding potatoes to the gravy, one will see that the saltiness and the spiciness in the food are instantly mellowed down. It helps in balancing the overall taste of the food. Also, potatoes are a great source of carbohydrates and very filling.
* Onions
Adding some caramelised sautéed onions is a great idea to add some sweetness to curry and also give it a crunchy flavour. The sweetness of caramelised onions will reduce the spice level in the food and also give the food a very layered flavour. To reduce the spice level in curry by using onions, one has to be very careful about the type of onions that are being used. Always choose the sweeter variety of onions.
* Curd
Curd is a famous ingredient that is used in a lot of Indian gravies to give it a very thick and creamy flavour. It is surprising how curd can instantly make an extremely spicy gravy tolerable. Moreover, curd also has extremely cooling properties and you can also eat food with warm properties during summer by just combining them with some curd. If the level of salt and spice in the curry is too much, then adding some curd can be a great idea to make it balanced and not too spicy.
These are some of the best options to control and balance the level of spices in gravies and food. All of these foods are a quick fix and can be used in all kinds of gravies and other dishes, to fix the level of spices.