We have grown up eating typical Indian chaats and curries that have raised our threshold for spiciness in our foods. It’s true our desi palate can handle any amount of spice, but sometimes, it gets too hot to handle, even for us. Mistakes are bound to happen while cooking. Even if one tries to use spices sparingly, the measurements can go wrong, and our dish turns out to be spicier than we intended. What to do then? We can’t undo the mistake, but we can definitely fix it. How? Keep reading.

One thing you should know is that you can’t really remove excessive spiciness from a cooked dish, but you can tone it down by balancing the flavours. Here are some of the quick-fix tips we follow when our dish is a bit too spicy.

Here’re 5 Tips To Cut Down Extra Spiciness In Foods:

1. Add A Sweetener:

The best way to mute the spice in food is by combing it with the contrasting taste of a sweetener. Pick a sweetener according to the kind of dish. For instance, add some honey to salad, raita, sandwich, dips and chutneys. Sugar can balance out pasta and curries. But remember to add just a dash of the sweetener.

2. Increase Base Ingredients

It’s really simple. If you cooked a paneer dish, add more paneer, if you cooked pasta with veggies, add more veggies or boil more pasta and add. You get it, right? Adding more foods will bring down the spice level of the entire dish.

(Also Read: 4 Effective Remedies To Cool Your Mouth After Eating Spicy Food)

_{Paneer or chicken, increase the base ingredient of your dish to balance out the spiciness.}

3. Bring On Some Acidity

Acidic foods can cut down spice by a marginal amount. A good idea is to add some lime juice since it complements most foods. You can also choose vinegar depending on the dish, or some tomato sauce which will bring in a mixture of both acidity and sweetness.

4. Drop-In Potatoes

Potato works in two wonderful ways. It has a porous texture which helps it absorb excessive spice, and the sugar content in potatoes sneaks out into the food to balance the flavours. Add shredded or whole-boiled potatoes. You can even remove them after letting them dip and sit there for some time.

(Also Read: Ever Wondered Why North Indian Food Is So Spicy? Here’s The Answer)

_{Add in some potatoes to make the gravy less spicy. Photo: iStock}

5. Milk The Benefits Of Dairy

Dairy products like milk, curd, cream and sour cream can neutralise the spiciness of the dish. You can make your pick as per the kind of dish you made. If you don’t mind some extra tanginess, choose curd; if there is a scope for some creaminess, add some milk or cream, and so on.

Diffuse spice in your too-spicy foods with these tips and enjoy a delicious meal.