Curry wurst. Photo: Jennifer Iserloh.
My first encounter with curry wurst was in Berlin -- soft tasty sausage and spicy curry ketchup sauce that's also slightly sweet. No one that I've spoken to seems to know the origin of this fast-food delight, which is still made with very high-quality products in Germany. My challenge was to make it with American ingredients and update it so we could enjoy curry wurst as a healthy meal that can be served for dinner with a side of steamed broccoli.
Get my updated curry wurst recipe after the jump...
Curry Wurst
Serves 4
Serves 4
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 shallot, peeled and minced
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons good quality curry powder, such as Madras
1 teaspoon sweet or hot paprika
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
4 turkey sausages, such as turkey Kielbasa
4 whole wheat or whole grain hot dog buns
Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until they begin to soften.
Add the curry and the paprika, cooking 1 minute more until fragrant.
Add the tomatoes, ketchup and water. Bring to a slow simmer and cook 8 to 10 minutes until the tomatoes have softened and the sauce is thick.
Cook the sausage according to package instructions and toast the buns.
Place one sausage in each bun and top with 1/4 of the sauce, serve immediately.
Learn more about Jennifer at skinnychef.com, and read her exclusive Slashfood blogs every Monday and Friday.
Add the curry and the paprika, cooking 1 minute more until fragrant.
Add the tomatoes, ketchup and water. Bring to a slow simmer and cook 8 to 10 minutes until the tomatoes have softened and the sauce is thick.
Cook the sausage according to package instructions and toast the buns.
Place one sausage in each bun and top with 1/4 of the sauce, serve immediately.
Learn more about Jennifer at skinnychef.com, and read her exclusive Slashfood blogs every Monday and Friday.
10-30-2009 @3:29PM jim said... Currywurst is narsty. It's the McRib of German street food. Give me a doner kebab any day.
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11-01-2009 @9:08AM Peter B Wolf said... When Currywurst first appeared in Berlin, the only known Ketchup in Germany was the 'Heintz' brand, although made/doctored-up to German taste buds, which in turn was generously pured onto any ordinary German Bratwurst and then sprinkled with ordinary German made 'Curry Powder'
That's all folks
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11-01-2009 @9:51PM PrairiePenguin said... While you're reaching for that currywurst, grab yourself a copy of "The Invention of Curried Sausage" by Uwe Timm. It's a great little piece of historical fiction centered around an AWOL German officer in the last days of WW II, a love story, Hamburg, and, yes, how curried sausage (allegedly) came to be invented.
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11-05-2009 @9:58AM Aline said... As an Austrian who has lived in the Netherlands for a long time (and now in the US), I think that the Curry Wurst is somehow related to the "Frikandel Speciaal" in Holland. It's a kind of sausage, served with curry ketchup (the number one food I miss from Holland) and mayonnaise, sometimes with onions on top. You can get the same mix (without the sausage), on Dutch fries, which is how I prefer it. I am pretty sure the invention of curry ketchup is due to the Netherlands colonies in Indonesia and Surinam and the fact that those cultures are very prevalent in Dutch society. Indonesian and Surinamese food is part of Dutch cooking culture (thank god because Dutch food is not very good).
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