Friday Food - Slow Cooker Curry - Never Fail - Different Every Time!

We love curries at our house, well, the kids say they don't, but when a bit of sour cream is added they usually end up licking their bowls clean!


I make a big slow cooker full of curry every couple of months and then enjoy having some nights where all I have to do is cook up some rice and papadums and voila - dinner!


I never use a recipe when making curry. I guess after years and years of experimenting, I kind of know how much of everything I need. So... I am giving you my 'Never Fail, Different Every Time Curry' recipe. With a few slow cooker tips at the end.


Oh, and you may note that I don't add chilli to this curry - the kids don't like it and it can get too spicy when cooked for 8 hours+, but if you are game - go. for. it.!

B's Never-Fail-Different-Every-Time Curry

Prep time: 20 minutes prep. 8 hours + cooking time
Makes: LOTS!(At least 3 meals for 2 adults & 2 poppets)


Ingredients:


1kg or so of beef (use chuck, rump, skirt etc) or lamb (forequarter chops, shanks)
2 cans of peeled, diced tomatoes
3 brown onions
4 tbsp olive oil
A good knob of butter
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp curry powder
4 large cloves of garlic
3 tsp fresh ginger
3 tbsp coriander
3 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground fennel seed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 beef stock cubes
1/2 cup of water
Salt and pepper


Method

1. Cut the meat into 2cm square chunks. Put into a bowl with all of the spices, garlic, ginger, flour and 1 tbs of olive oil, mix well and leave for at least 30 minutes (I do this step the night before so that the flavours develop and to save time in the morning).
2. Cut onions and fry in the butter and the olive oil, stirring often. They should be golden and soft - this should take about 5 minutes - don't burn them!
3. Put onions into the slow cooker. Add the cans of tomatoes to your slow cooker too. This is a good time to turn your slow cooker on as it is then warming as you add the other things to it.
4. Start browning batches of meat small amounts of olive oil. Make sure that you seal all the sides and get a bit of colour on the meat. Add these to the slow cooker.
5. In your final batch of beef, add the tomato paste and cook for a few minutes, stirring often. If it begins to stick, add a splash of water.
6. When everything is in the slow cooker, add the beef stock cubes and water. Season with salt and pepper. Pop the lid on and walk away. It will be ready in around 8 hours!
7. Serve with rice and some mango chutney.

Variations:

• You can add vegetables like carrots, potato, cauliflower or pumpkin to this curry. Add it 4-6 hours before you want to eat.
• You can add other spices too if you want! Try:  1/4 tsp of turmeric, 1/4 tsp chilli powder, 1tbs garam masala

B's Slow cooker Rules

1. Don't open the lid! Unless you are adding an ingredient - leave it alone! The slow cooker works best when you have a good amount of steam and condensation build up.
2. Don't add too much liquid! The steam that builds up from Rule #1 will add moisture to the dish.
3. If you find that the sauce of the casserole is too runny, take the lid of for the final 30 minutes and it should thicken.
4. Do try the dish about 30 minutes before serving. If it is too bitter, try adding a tsp of honey. If it is too salty - try adding some more peeled tomatoes. If it is too bland - add a bit more curry powder, garam masala and some more garlic.
5. If you really don't like the curry - I recommend throwing it out, don't freeze it thinking you will eat it another time. You will never go back and eat it if you didn't like it the first time. Save yourself the space in your freezer and the hassle. Sometimes, things just don't work. Even Nigella says so!