I love curry. I didn't always --- growing up, I thought curry was spicy and I never ordered it in a restaurant, and always shied away when it was offered, assuming it would be too spicy and just not my thing.
Boy, was I wrong. Curry isn't spicy, it's just pure and totally awesome flavor.
I now can't seem to get enough.
Adam and I had a date night a few weeks ago and we went to an Afghan-cuisine restaurant that came highly recommended by some friends. It was amazingly fantastic, and I've been craving curried anything ever since.
I threw this in the crockpot yesterday, and it satisfied my craving -- and the best part was that I had absolutely EVERYTHING in the house already. You might, too!
The Ingredients.
serves 4-6
3 pounds meat (I used beef. You can use turkey, pork, lamb, goat, poodle (kidding, just kidding...) or a tofu/meat substitute).
1 tablespoon curry (* see below note)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 head garlic, peeled and smashed (approx 10 cloves)
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk (full fat is best)
(optional, add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to prevent curdling that sometimes can occur if your pot gets up to a boil. See here, for more information.)
salt to taste at the table
The Directions.
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. My meat was frozen solid and I did not do anything to it at all. If you have thawed meat, you might want to cut it into bite-sized chunks. If you don't do this, prepare yourself to cut the meat or shred it later.
Put the meat into your slow cooker and add the curry and garam masala. Flip the meat over a few times to get the spices evenly distributed, or if you're feeling brave, rub the spices directly onto the meat. Add in the smashed garlic cloves and onion slices. Pour the entire can of coconut milk (include the paste!) on top.
Cover, and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours. Tofu and poultry won't take as long to cook -- check after 6 hours on low, 3 to 4 on high.
I served our beef curry with brown basmati rice and a baked sweet potato. I did add salt to my own dish and Adam salted his, but the kids didn't ask so I didn't offer.
* note: Adam and the kids liked this a lot, but I, personally, would have liked a more pronounced curry flavor. If you are a big fan of curried food, I'd suggest upping the curry to 1 1/2 tablespoons, or maybe even a whole 2 tablespoons.
The Verdict.
The coconut milk mixed with the curry and garam masala creates a velvety sauce that I could suck up with a straw. As noted above, I would have liked an even more pronounced curry flavor but my family disagreed and thought it was fine as-is. I do believe in this case the better your spices, the better the results. If your curry powder doesn't have a beautiful, enveloping aroma because it's been in the back of the cabinet for a few years, you might really want to invest in a new bottle.
I hope your November is going well so far! If you're gearing up for Thanksgiving and are looking for some tried-and-true Thanksgiving dishes to make in your slow cooker, here are the reader favorites.
don't forget to visit the giveaway page, we've got some cool stuff!
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