Currywurst was born in Berlin in 1949, when Herta Heuwer, who ran a snack stand in the British sector, mixed ketchup and curry powder obtained from British soldiers into a sauce and poured it over a fried sausage. She registered the name of her sauce in 1951 and kept the recipe secret for the rest of her life. Berlin did not need the recipe to fall in love, and the city has a museum's worth of opinions about which stand does it best.

It belongs to the same Berlin as the AVUS, the fearsome high speed track built from two straight lengths of highway joined by banked curves, which hosted the 1959 German Grand Prix. Like the AVUS, currywurst is simple, fast and slightly outrageous. It is served on a paper tray with a small wooden fork and, usually, chips with mayonnaise. Our sauce is homemade and takes 20 minutes, which is less time than most Berlin queues.

The curry sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon mild curry powder
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup (240 ml) ketchup
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon (12 g) brown sugar
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in the saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
2. Add the curry powder and paprika and stir for 30 seconds, then add the tomato paste and stir 1 minute more.
3. Stir in the ketchup, water, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and cayenne if using. Bring to a bubble, turn the heat to low and simmer 10 minutes, stirring now and then. For a smooth Berlin style sauce, blend it until smooth.

The sausages

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 precooked bratwurst or pork sausages
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil

Method

1. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and fry, turning every couple of minutes with tongs, for 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Move the sausages to a board and cut them on a slight angle into slices about 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick.

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