Italian Sausage Curry

Italian Sausage Curry has an irreverent vibe to it. While using Italian sausage in an Indian curry might seem unusual, it yields wonderful results.  Savory and not-too-spicy, Italian Sausage Curry is delicious as is, over rice or with naan on the side.  Take your dinner international with either Sicilian Orange Salad or Greek Cucumber Tomato Salad as a starter followed by Italian Sausage Curry as your main course.

Prep Time: 15 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes. Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs Cooking Oil, Olive/Canola Oil blend recommended
• 1 lb Italian Sausage, 4 or 5 links, preferably hot with fennel seeds
• 2 Cinnamon sticks
• 5 whole Cloves
• 5 Green Cardamom pods, bruised gently*
• 1 Tb Curry Leaves powder
• 1 large Onion
• 1 Serrano chili
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 2 inches Ginger
• 1 Tb ground Turmeric
• 1 Tb Madras-style Curry Powder*
• 1 Tb Garam Masala
• 1 tsp fine Sea Salt
• 2 cups diced Tomatoes, fresh or canned
• 2 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 cup Water

Preparation:

1. Peel and trim the onion, garlic cloves and ginger root.  Cut the onion lengthwise into very thin, long slices, yielding approximately 1 ½ cups.  Mince the garlic and ginger root and slice the serrano chili into very thin rings; combine the garlic, ginger and serrano chili with the onion.
2. Pour the cooking oil into a 5-quart Dutch oven over a medium-high heat.
3. Prick the sausages with a fork, 3 or 4 times per sausage.
4. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add the sausages to the pan and cover; brown the sausages on all sides but not cooked through, approximately 15 minutes.
5. Remove the partially-cooked sausages to a bowl and set aside to cool.
6. Add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods and curry leaves powder to the heated oil and cook over a low heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
7. Add the onion, serrano chili, garlic and ginger, stir to mix with the spices, adding a bit more oil if needed, cover and cook over a medium heat until the vegetables have softened.
8. Combine the turmeric, curry powder, garam masala and sea salt in a small bowl, mix together and sprinkle over the other ingredients; continue to cook for a minute or two.
9. Slice the sausages into thin circles and return to the bowl with their juices.
10. Add the tomatoes, vinegar and water, stir to mix and raise the heat to medium-high.
11. Add the sliced sausages and their juices to the curry and stir to mix.
12. Rinse the potatoes, remove the eyes and cut into bite-size pieces.
13. When the curry begins to bubble, stir in the potatoes and cook, covered, until the potatoes are fork-tender.
14. Remove from heat and allow Italian Sausage Curry to rest for 5 minutes prior to serving.

*Notes:

• Green Cardamom pods can be purchased at Indian and Middle Eastern supermarkets and on-line.
• Bruise cardamom pods by placing them under the flat side of a knife and gently pressing down on the pods until they pop; do this gently, don’t smash the pods to pieces.
• Madras-style Curry Powder is a yellow/ochre color and available in supermarkets, Indian supermarkets and on-line.