Slow Cooker Beef Curry

Although spring is just around the corner, it's still pretty nippy and a piping hot curry is very welcome - especially when it's been bubbling away in the slow cooker all day. (Is it just me? I always feel as if I haven't actually been cooking if I have a meal I've prepared hours before!) Although I have to warn you, if you are at home all day while it is cooking, the smell will drive you CRAZY!

This curry doesn't claim to be in any way authentic - but it DOES claim to be warming, spicy and delicious. And the fact that the meat isn't pre-fried cuts down the preparation time.

Ingredients (to serve 4 with rice and a vegetable curry)

500g diced stewing beef
1 large onion, chopped
½ tbs sunflower oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbs curry powder (or to taste) - I used a Hot Madras Curry Powder which I made at the weekend from a recipe on The Curry Guy.
Thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, grated
2 tbs white wine vinegar
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

Place the beef in the bottom of your slow cooker bowl.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onions and garlic until softened. While they are cooking, mix the ginger, curry powder and vinegar together to a paste. When the onions are soft, stir in the spice paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Tip in the tomatoes, then quarter fill the tin with water and swirl around to pick up the remaining bits of tomato, and tip this into the pan too.

Mix well and bring to the boil then pour over the meat and stir. Cook in the slow cooker on Auto for 6-8 hours, or on High for 1 hour followed by Low for 5-7 hours.

I served it with a vegetable pilau.
It was the first time I'd used the curry powder made from the Curry Guy's recipe - I usually make my curry powder from a Pat Chapman recipe that was featured in Family Circle magazine many, many years ago. The newer recipe makes a lovely fragrant curry powder; there is lots of cardamom and fennel in it, and some star anise, which gives it a depth of flavour that most bought blends lack.

Having some pre-mixed curry powder to hand is a great time saver, but if you've never made your own, do give it a try! There are some great recipes around, like the one I linked to in the ingredients, and once you've tasted a fresh home made powder you'll never want to buy a bland shop-bought one again!

 

I'm sharing this with the Slow Cooked Challenge at Farmersgirl Kitchen, where this month's theme is Spicy.