Bangers! Snags! Sausages! Now that’s one ingredient that you can’t give a miss in Australia
No barbecue party is complete without grilled sausages. Eaten on their own or wedged in a roll with caramelised onions, ketchup and mayo; sausages are everybody’s comfort food, easy to make and ready to go in a jiffy. If you tend to lean more towards the gourmet style of eating, then sliced sausages are absolutely necessary to complete your cheese platter and perfectly paired with a bottle of wine.
So, what exactly are sausages?
A sausage is essentially ground meat enclosed in a skin casing. Historically, sausages were an ingenious method of food preservation. Extra bits of meat, the offcuts, scraps, fat and so on would be ground and stuffed into tubular casings, made from the animal’s own cleaned intestines, and hence the cylindrical shape.
Sausages are extremely popular in Meditteranean cuisine and each region has unique styles and flavours. Some sausages are precooked, smoked and dried which means that you can eat these as cold cuts without any cooking necessary. Others are fresh and must be cooked like you would cook any other forms of meat.
Australia is famous for its delis where you can find an assortment of sausages to choose from. Traditionally, sausages were prepared from pork, beef and veal, but today you can find chicken and lamb sausages too. There are flavour combinations to suit almost every palate.
You would have also noticed skinless sausages in the deli or supermarket chiller; these are precooked and have the skin removed and hence require less cooking before consumption.
Here we have taken the humble sausage and given it our twist – an Indian inspired sausage curry!
This sausage curry holds a lot of special memories for me. I first had it 30 years ago while living in the Middle East. This was the only way we would eat sausages as my mother didn’t know how else to cook this foreign-looking ingredient. Years later, I still cherish this dish, not just for its memories, but for its amazing taste.
The most remarkable thing about this sausage curry is that it has all the familiar flavours that we are used to eating in the Indian subcontinent. Almost every state of India would have a similar dish to this except that the main ingredient is never sausages.
You can use either skinless sausages or flavoured ones. If you are using sausages with skins, it is best to grill and slice them before adding to the dish. If you are using skinless, then slice the sausage into pieces and shallow fry before using in the dish. And if you are using flavoured sausages, make sure you adjust the spices and seasoning accordingly.
This sausage curry is simple and easy to make, perfect for weekday dinners. I love it paired with hot piping phulkas and a nice cooling cucumber or boondi raita.
What’s more, this sausage curry can make the perfect lunch box the next day. Fill it up in hot dog rolls or in a bun like I did and you have a delicious, instant sandwich on your hands. A winner all the way through!
Indian style Sausage Curry
Ingredients
6 Fresh chicken sausages (with skin)
3, finely sliced red onions
2 cloves, crushed garlic
½ inch, grated ginger
1 sprig curry leaves
2 large, finely sliced ripe red tomatoes
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp cumin powder
Salt – to season
Vegetable oil – to shallow fry sausages
3 tbsp, finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
Method
Grill or shallow fry the sausages and slice into medium-sized pieces.
In another pan, heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil and add the sliced onions. Saute for 5 minutes.
Add the ginger, garlic, curry leaves and sauté till the onions are light brown.
Once browned, add the spice powders and sauté for another minute on low heat.
Add the tomatoes and sauté till a mushy consistency is reached.
Add ½ cup water, bring to boil and season with salt. Remember that sausages have salt in it so add accordingly.
Add the sausages and cook on medium heat till done. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Sizzling sausages
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