While vadouvan is a French-style curry powder that was created by French families living in Pondicherry for several generations, the basic steps of making it are similar to the preparation of curry powder that you have come to associate with the British Empire. Both the curry powders are used as replacements for the Indian spice blend as a way to tone down the heat. This curry powder sticks the landing in French cuisine, as it has a mild flavour.
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A lot of the Westerners may be more familiar with vadouvan rather than garam masala. It is used to season meats, sauces, vegetables and soups too. Just as there are many variations of garam masala in every single region of India, like panch phoron, chettinad masala, goda masala, to name a few, similarly, the Europeans also seem to have made their own spice mixes, which rank higher than the other regional spice mixes from India.
The issue with the majority of curry powder is how much of it is present. Its cumin odour is at odds with the kapow of black pepper. The unplaceable heat is almost suspicious because most blends contain a lot of bland turmeric. It doesn't satisfy you as an all-purpose spice or a focused ingredient for any serious cooking, but it's something you might mix into mayonnaise or put onto cauliflower for a casual supper. Vadouvan can help with it. Over the past few years, this French-ified curry powder has received a lot of attention from chefs, diners, and home cooks. Compared to most Madras curry powders, vadouvan is methodical and well-organised, even though blenders are free to experiment with the ingredients.
Its components are of higher quality than those of other mixes because it's still a very uncommon product with a gourmet cachet. Particularly when paired with starchy vegetables, grains, dairy, and meat, its basic flavours become more pronounced. Vadouvan is mild enough to work well with modest chicken and winter squash, but strong enough to withstand flavours like lamb (or goat!) and tart yoghurts. Its rich, roasted properties become more apparent the longer it cooks, especially when fried in some butter.
How Similar Is French Vadouvan To India's Garam Masala?
The curry powder is mainly a spice mix for the European palate, and so, people are under the impression that the West doesn’t look beyond the curry powder to see the diaspora of other spice mixes in India. There is a lot of debate about how much the curry powder deserves to be considered a close cousin of any of the Indian spice mixes, such as garam masala.
At the same time, there is a particular catch here. There’s nothing like Indian curry powder or what the West has come to call Indian spices. Many believe that they should simply do away with calling it ‘Indian curry powder’ and instead refer to it as simply Indian spice blends. But in France, chefs use vadouvan in many ways. It features quite heavily in cooking. Vadouvan technically makes use of spices that are popular in Indian cooking. It was inspired by the seasoning blend, which is known as vadagam in Tamil cooking, which is a mixture of sun-dried onions, mustard, garlic, curry leaves and urad dal.
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The French created their own blend using onions, curry leaves, fenugreek, nutmeg, cloves, salt, chilli, garlic, pepper, cumin, mustard seeds, and garlic among other classic curry seasonings. Turmeric may or may not be added. Then the spices are sun-dried. Next, the spices are mixed with sesame or castor oil and rolled into balls for easy storage.
How To Use Vadouvan While Cooking?
In essence, it can be a mixture of up to thirty spices, and just as curry powders differ from cook to cook, so too does vadouvan. Occasionally, it's more of a paste created with sautéed onions that must be refrigerated. Curry leaves, white and toasted onion and garlic powders, brown mustard seeds, shallots, and kosher salt are all included in the dry spice mix that you can buy. Cardamom and fenugreek are also included in some combinations. Use it like you would a sweet curry powder; it adds a smoky flavour to meats, fish, and vegetables, with a softer, slightly fruity note and a hint of smoke.