Curry Masala francés de Vadouvan

During the French colonial era,  the French, like the British, experienced the wonders of the Indian culinary palette. The blend began in  a French settlement, in southern India, in the town of Puducherry. The area was controlled by France from the mid-17th century through the mid-20th century. 

The French chefs of the settlement enjoyed a Tamil spice blend called vadagam. The process of making a vadagam curry involves rolling it into balls, then sun drying the combined ingredients.

The lack of sophistication in most Europeans’ palates, of that day, made the bold flavors of a vadagam undesirable, as an export item.  So the local French toned down the heat, and played up the aromatic, and savories, with a touch of sugar sweetness.  

While almost forgotten in French-speaking countries, it was really not until 2005, in Los Angeles, when Trois Mec’s chef, Ludo Lefebvre, added it to his aromata, and introduced into dishes at the restaurant, that it became something of a foodie mania in North America, for a few years.