CYNTHIA D. BERTELSEN

In spite of French presence in India for a couple of centuries, trying to find Indian curry in France tends to be a bit of a chore. The first Indian restaurant didn’t open in Paris until 1975. Those in the know (mostly British expatriates pining for curry in London) lament the lack of good Indian food, although there’s an occasional stampede to certain Indian restaurants in parts of Paris, only to find that the owners are Pakistanis.  And Richard C. Morais’s  delicious novel, The Hundred-Foot Journey (2010), although fiction, documents what happens when French and Indian cuisines clash.

Like the guardians of the French language, culinary purists want to keep French cuisine free of foreign influences. But given the global mobility going on literally and virtually, well, it didn’t take long for modern chefs like Pierre Gagnaire to sprinkle a bit of curry spices into their pots and casseroles. (One of his books carries the title Reinventing French Cuisine … .)

Because France also colonized parts of the Caribbean, most people in France with experience of curry identify the taste with Caribbean Colombo, a Creole curry from Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Lest you  still think French curry is an oxymoron, think back to Gourmet magazine (oh, how I miss that one) and an August 2008 article written by Kemp M. Minifie.

Minifie first tasted vadouvan on top of some salmon, at a Parisian restaurant, Le Chateaubriand. And the rest is history.

Or maybe the real discovery of vadouvan lies with Season 5 of the Bravo’s television network series, “Top Chef.”

Vadouvan, sold by Indian grocers in the Velan market in the 10th arrondissement, in the Passage Brady, now sits on the spice shelf alongside the quatre épices and fines herbes. Related to a masala mixture from Pondicherry called thalippu vadagam (see recipe HERE), vadouvan took American culinary media, if not by storm, at least for a bit of a ride for a while.

Here’s the recipe as printed in Gourmet:

• 2 lb onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 lb shallots, halved
• 12 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh curry leaves (optional)
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• EQUIPMENT:

  an electric coffee/spice grinder or a mortar and pestle

• Preheat oven to 350ºF with rack in middle.
• Pulse onions in 3 batches in a food processor until very coarsely chopped (there may be a few large pieces remaining), transferring to a bowl. Repeat with shallots, then garlic.
• Heat oil in a deep 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over high heat until it shimmers, then sauté onions, shallots, and garlic (stir often) until golden and browned in spots, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Grind fenugreek seeds in grinder or with mortar and pestle. Add to onion mixture along with remaining ingredients, 1 Tbsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper and stir until combined.
• Transfer to a parchment-paper-lined large 4-sided sheet pan and spread as thinly and evenly as possible. Bake, stirring occasionally with a skewer to separate onions, until well browned and barely moist, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

  

Photo credit: C. Bertelsen

COOKS’ NOTES:

• Vadouvan keeps in the refrigerator 1 month (cool before covering) or in the freezer 6 months.
• We’ve also got a web-exclusive recipe using the leftover vandouvan.