Here is a quick insider tip.

When you go out for Indian food, do you order your dish mild, medium or spicy?

I recently had a discussion with an owner of a high end Indian restaurant in Bellevue. She encouraged me to never order a dish “mild” or 1-2 stars. The base of every dish is made to “medium” spicy or 3 stars. When a customer wants 4 or 5 stars they add more concentrated chili paste. When a customer orders 2 stars they add cream to the standard 3 star base. When 1 star is ordered they add even more cream.

That is a lot of hidden calories and saturated fat! They do offer coconut milk as another option is the customer requests a substitution, but it is still a lot of extra (secret) calories.

If you are looking for a less spicy option, I would recommend ordering 3 stars and a side of yogurt or raita (yogurt sauce with chopped vegetables) as a healthier way to tone down the spiciness. 

I wonder if this applies to Thai curries as well? It doesn’t hurt to ask!