Vadouvan is a French take on Indian spice blends, containing onions, shallots, garlic, and a variety of spices. It’s used to flavor sauces, soups, meats, and stews and can be made at home by roasting the ingredients in a frying pan and baking them in the oven. The blend includes common curry spices like cumin, turmeric, and cardamom, as well as mustard, chili, and fenugreek. Freshly ground and roasted spices are most potent, but the aroma can be strong and uncomfortable for some.
Vadouvan is a curry-style spice blend popular in France and Belgium as a general spice used to flavor many sauces and a number of foods, including soups, meats and stews. It is a French take on Indian spice blends and is somewhat similar to a masala. Vadouvan contains flavorful greens such as onions, shallots and garlic cloves as well as a wide variety of spices similar to those found in other Indian spice blends, including cumin, turmeric and cardamom. This spice mix is most often found in grocery or spice shops that cater to French or Indian customers. It’s also reasonably inexpensive and simple to make at home.
Cooking this spice at home doesn’t require unusual equipment, difficult steps, or expensive ingredients. The cooking process for vedouvan starts in a frying pan and ends on a baking tray in the oven. Vadouvan is made by cooking onions, shallots and garlic in butter or oil. Sometimes chopped peppers are also added. Once the mixture has turned golden, salt, pepper and spices are mixed. The fragrant mixture is then spread on parchment paper and baked.
The spices in this blend generally include common curry spices like cumin, turmeric, and cardamom, as well as mustard, chili, and fenugreek. Fenugreek is often freshly ground before being added to the roasting pan with the other spices. Vadouvan also contains cloves and may contain curry leaves.
Mustard and cumin are some of the most popular ingredients found in Indian spice blends like Vadouvan. The mustard in these spice blends is related to the common yellow mustard, but is darker in color and more potent. Similar to Chinese mustard, this type of mustard is usually found as a dry powder in a small container. Cumin spice is made from cumin seeds, which are ground before being used. This spice is used extensively in Indian cooking and can be found in recipes ranging from meat dishes, stews and soups to breads and crackers.
Many Indian cooks insist that spices are most potent when freshly ground and roasted in oil. Spices can be ground by hand or using a clean coffee grinder. The scent of roasted herbs can be powerful and can cause discomfort in the eyes, mouth or throat of sensitive individuals. Providing good ventilation in the cooking area by opening a door or window can help eliminate some of the aroma.
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