Curried sausages are a vintage family favourite in Australia. The dish is essentially a variation of bangers and mash, with a curry gravy. There are carrots and peas in it. The dish is not to be confused with currywurst, the German fast food snack of pork sausages that are steamed and then fried and served in bite-sized chunks with a curry-flavoured ketchup.

In the Australian classic family supper, the curry is in the gravy. In Wikipedia’s somewhat slim and possibly shaky list of Australian and New Zealand dishes (it’s not a very long list), curried sausages are described as a “stew consisting of sausages, onion, curry powder, peas and tomatoes”, adding that “fruits such as sultanas and bananas are common additions”.

It’s made with simple old-fashioned curry powder and chutney, in a tomato-based sauce which turns into a gravy. It’s advisable to thicken the gravy with a little cornflour dissolved in milk or water.

Beef sausages are often used but commonsense tells us that it doesn’t really matter what type of sausage is used, as the curry action is all in the gravy anyway. And finding a decent beef sausage in South Africa is like finding hen’s teeth. Most of them are plain to the point of ghastly.

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

800 g sausages (beef, pork, boerewors or sosatie wors)

1 large white onion, peeled and sliced

3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal

2 cups / 250 ml chicken stock

2 Tbsp Mrs HS Ball’s chutney

1 heaped Tbsp curry powder

1 cup / 250 g frozen peas

Salt to taste (no need for pepper)

Mashed potato or cooked rice, to serve

1 heaped tsp cornflour dissolved in a little water or milk

Coriander leaves for garnish

Method

Heat the oil in a suitable pan and fry the sausages until cooked through and the outsides are nicely browned.

Remove the cooked sausages to a side dish and add the onion and garlic. Cook on a low heat until the onion softens, then add the carrots and cook, stirring now and then, for five or so minutes.

Add the stock, stir in the chutney and curry powder, salt to taste, and cook until the carrots are tender. Add the cooked sausages and the frozen peas and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the diluted cornflour, stir until it thickens, and serve with mashed potatoes or rice. Garnish with chopped coriander. DM

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This dish is photographed in a bowl by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.