I have just three recipes that my grandma wrote out for me, one day when I told her I didn't know how to cook anything other than eggs. This recipe for sausage and curry potatoes is one of them, magnificent in the way that only savta recipes can be. Total comfort food, easy and crowd-pleasing, filling and delicious. You can use any beef sausages in this dish that you like, including hot dogs.
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My beloved Savta Sarah, z"l, died before I was married, but I was lucky enough to be able to introduce her to my fiancee (whom she immediately adored). "I'm not sure they let you have children if you can't make a proper schnitzel," I mentioned one night. Savta sprang into action, grabbing a piece of paper and, probably for the first time ever, writing out three beginner, home-style recipes in her impeccable handwriting, ones she made over and over—the kind you need to know before you can bring a kid home from the hospital. I've since made the much-photocopied sheet of paper into a tea towel (using these instructions from Spoonflower), and the recipes? Salad (as in Israeli salad), green beans or okra in tomato sauce, and sausage and curry potatoes—the heart of my repertoire.
Five ingredients!
This is a true 5-ingredient dish. To make it, all you need is:
- One package of beef sausages (3-4) - Any kind you like. We like a knockwurst or bratwurst style best, but merguez is also fantastic, and honestly, we love it with hot dogs too.
- An onion - Make it a big one. Surprisingly, there's no garlic in this (savta was nothing if not a garlic person).
- Yellow potatoes - 3 medium or 5 small yellow potatoes.
- Paprika - You want sweet (not hot) paprika here, and you can use Hungarian style paprika, or Moroccan style with oil.
- Curry Powder - Just ordinary, Westernized yellow curry powder.
Plus, salt and pepper, and olive oil for pan frying. (Does that count? I don't think that counts.)
Seasoning the sausages and potatoes
Savta says to put the cubed potatoes and sausages into a bowl and toss them with the paprika and curry powder. And what savta says, we do. I'm not sure if the dish would turn out differently if you seasoned directly in the skillet, but I don't dare deviate. So get out a mixing bowl and deposit the potatoes and sausage in there as you peel and chop.
Cooking the sausage and curry potatoes
In another feat of savta magic, this dish is ready to eat in under half an hour. Fry the onion, then add the sausage and potatoes. Cover with a small amount of water and simmer until tender, which takes about 20-25 minutes. You'll need to check in on it periodically, adding more (just a little) more water if needed. The water should be fully absorbed by the end of the cook time, forming a delicious sauce that clings to the potatoes and sausages.
And now eat, pretending you're in a tiny, hot apartment kitchen with your savta persistently asking, "Maybe a little bit more?"
Sausage and Curry Potatoes (meat)
Ingredients
- 3-4 beef sausages or hot dogs - cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ onion - chopped
- 3 large yellow potatoes - or 6 small, peeled and cubed
- 1 Tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp curry powder
- salt and pepper - to taste
- olive oil - a small amount for frying the onion
Instructions
- Place the potatoes and hot dogs in a bowl and cover with the curry, paprika, salt and pepper.
- In a skillet or pot, fry the onion in olive oil.
- When the onion is golden, add in the potatoes and hot dogs. Stir well and add half a cup of water. Cook over a small flame for 20-25 min., until the potatoes are tender, adding another ½ cup water if needed.
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