How Spicy Is Indian Food? What to Expect and How We Adjust It

How Spicy Is Indian Food? What to Expect and How We Adjust It

By the Indian Bites kitchen team, Pustervig 4, Copenhagen and Dyrehavsbakken 207, Klampenborg. Reviewed for accuracy on 28 September 2026.

How spicy is Indian food? Less than most people expect. The majority of North Indian restaurant dishes are mild to medium, and the ones guests order most, like Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala, sit firmly at the gentle end. What Indian food always is, is spiced: layered with cumin, coriander, cardamom and garam masala. Chilli heat is a separate layer that the cook decides on, and at Indian Bites we set it when each curry is finished, so you can ask for milder or hotter. We have served more than 200,000 guests across our two restaurants, rated 4.7 stars at Pustervig (634 reviews) and 4.8 stars at Bakken, and “is it very spicy?” is still the question we hear most at the counter. Here is the honest answer, dish by dish.

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How Spicy Is Indian Food Really? Spiced vs Spicy

In Danish and English alike, “spicy” gets used for two different things. Aromatic spices such as cumin, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and fenugreek create warmth, depth and fragrance, but they do not burn. The burn comes from capsaicin, found in fresh green chillies and dried red chillies, with a smaller contribution from black pepper and fresh ginger.

That is why a first-time guest can call a rich Butter Chicken “spicy” when there is barely any chilli in it. What they are tasting is spice, not heat.

The chilli we lean on most

Much of the deep red colour in our sauces comes from Kashmiri chilli, a dried red chilli prized in North Indian kitchens because it gives a vivid colour and a gentle, fruity warmth rather than a sharp sting. A curry can look fiery red and still be mild. Our spices are imported directly from India, and we use Kashmiri chilli generously because it adds colour without pushing up the heat.

How Spicy Is Indian Food on Our Menu? A Dish-by-Dish Guide

Heat in Indian food is set by the cook, so these are the levels we cook to by default. All mains are served with basmati rice.

Mild: the safe starting point

• Butter Chicken (149 DKK at Bakken): grilled chicken in a velvety tomato, butter and cream sauce, finished with crushed dried fenugreek leaves for a faintly sweet, almost maple-like aroma. This is the dish we steer nervous first-timers towards.
• Palak Paneer (135 DKK at Bakken): cubes of soft paneer cheese in a smooth, earthy spinach sauce with garlic and a little ginger. Vegetarian and mild.

Mild to medium: warmth you notice

• Chicken Tikka Masala (149 DKK at Bakken): grilled chicken tikka in a bolder tomato and onion masala. More spice-forward than Butter Chicken, with a gentle heat that builds slowly.
• Dal Tadka (125 DKK at Bakken): yellow lentils finished with a tadka, a sizzling tempering of cumin seeds, garlic and dried red chilli in hot oil poured over just before serving. The smoky chilli note sits on top rather than through the whole dish.
• Channa Masala (Pustervig): chickpeas in a tangy tomato and onion gravy with garam masala and coriander.

Medium: for guests who want a kick

• Lamb Curry (159 DKK at Bakken): slow-simmered lamb in a dark, robust sauce with whole spices. The deepest and most warming curry we serve, though still well below the heat many guests fear.

At Pustervig, mains are priced from 125 to 149 DKK. You can see the full menu for each location on our Copenhagen page and our Bakken page.

How We Adjust the Heat in Our Kitchen

Our base sauces are cooked mild on purpose. Chilli goes in when each portion is brought together in the pan, so we can dial it up or down per order without losing the spice aroma underneath.

For children we leave the chilli out entirely and keep everything else the same, so they still get the full flavour of the dish. At Bakken, where a large share of our guests are families with young children, this is one of the most common requests we get, and Butter Chicken with plain rice and a plain naan is a regular children’s order there.

One honest limit: on Dal Tadka the dried chilli is bloomed into the tadka oil. Once that is poured on, we cannot take it back out. If you want the mildest possible dal, mention it before we temper it and we will make it with less chilli.

What to Order If You Are New to Indian Food

Start with Butter Chicken or Palak Paneer, add a garlic naan (30 DKK) and a Mango Lassi (39 DKK at Bakken; drinks at Pustervig are 25 to 39 DKK). If anything feels too hot, reach for the lassi or bread, not water. Our guide to Indian spices explains the rest of the spice cupboard if you want to go deeper.

Visit Indian Bites

Visit us at Pustervig 4 in Copenhagen or at Bakken in Klampenborg. Pustervig 4, 1126 København K is open every day from 11:00 to 20:30 for dine-in, takeaway and Wolt delivery. Dyrehavsbakken 207, 2930 Klampenborg is open Monday to Friday 11:00 to 20:00 and Saturday to Sunday 11:00 to 21:00, following Bakken’s seasonal calendar, so check before you travel. All our meat is halal-certified at both locations.

Order takeaway or book a table at indianbites.dk, or see what is on at Indian Bites Bakken. Just tell us how hot you like it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How spicy is Indian food?

Most North Indian restaurant dishes are mild to medium. The cooking is heavily spiced, with cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and garam masala, but those spices add aroma rather than burn. Chilli heat is a separate layer that the cook controls. At Indian Bites the chilli is set when each curry is finished, so we can make most dishes milder or hotter on request.

What is the mildest dish at Indian Bites?

Butter Chicken is the mildest choice and the one we suggest to first-timers: grilled chicken in a smooth tomato, butter and cream sauce with dried fenugreek leaves. Palak Paneer, soft paneer cheese in a spiced spinach sauce, is the mildest vegetarian option. At Bakken, Butter Chicken costs 149 DKK and Palak Paneer 135 DKK, both served with basmati rice.

Can I ask for my curry to be made milder or hotter?

Yes. Tell the staff when you order, at the counter or in the comment field when ordering online. We hold back or add chilli at the finishing stage, so the dish keeps its full spice aroma either way. The one thing we cannot remove is the dried chilli already bloomed into a tadka, so for the mildest dal ask before we temper it.

Is Indian food suitable for children?

Yes. Many Danish families eat with us, especially at Bakken. For children we recommend Butter Chicken or Palak Paneer with plain rice and a plain naan, and we can keep the chilli out entirely. A Mango Lassi is a good match because the yoghurt softens any heat.

What should I eat or drink if a curry is too hot?

Reach for dairy or starch, not water. Capsaicin, the compound that makes chilli burn, dissolves in fat and binds to milk protein, so a Mango Lassi (39 DKK at Bakken) or a bite of naan with rice cools your mouth far better than a glass of water, which only spreads the heat around.

Is spicy the same as spiced?

No. Spiced means built on aromatic spices such as cumin, cardamom, cloves and fenugreek, which give warmth and depth without burning. Spicy means chilli heat. A well-made North Indian curry is always richly spiced but does not have to be spicy at all.

Last updated: 28 September 2026.