the hottest curry

The hottest curry is apparently not found in India, where vindaloo might be considered rather spicey (and of Portuguese in origin via Goa).

The hottest curry is phaal (or phall) which originated in British Indian restaurants. One of the most well known restaurants serving phaal is the Brick Lane Curry House in New York city. Their description

An excruciatingly hot curry, more pain and sweat than flavor, for our customers who do this on a dare, we will require you to state a verbal disclaimer not holding us liable for any physical or emotional damage after eating this curry. If you do manage to finish your serving of curry, a bottle of beer is on us.
Chicken $17 Lamb $18 Goat $19 Fish $19 Shrimp $20 Paneer $15 Tofu $15 Vegetable $14

Only a bottle of beer and a certificate as a reward? It should be on the house, especially at those prices.

There is an Indian store about ten minutes walk from my office called Bharat International Spice and Sweet Centre that serves cheap meals. I usually ask for extra spicey, particularly for the vindaloo, and there was one time when I asked that they make it super hot. Unfortunately, the cook decided to ensure my meal was really really hot with probably half the sauce made of chilli and I could not finish it. It was the last time I asked for super hot.

See
- BBC guide on eating Indian food in the UK
- Adam Richman taking up the challenge in New York (Man versus Food)