Slow Cooker - curry recipe needed

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My friend has lent me her slow cooker and I fancy making a curry. Does anyone have any recipes that do not involve tinned tomatoes or passata?

And any other "fabulous, it really must be tried" recipes gratefully received. This is all in the name of doing a trial run before I commit to buying my own slow cooker.....I fancy getting one, but really don't fancy death by casserole!

Thanks

I make chickpeas curry.
Basically add chickpeas, saute onion,ginger,garlic, tomatoes before adding them to the slow cooker, add curry powder,garam masala and salt.

Hmmm, I do two really lovely curries in the slow cooker but both have either chopped tomatoes or passata in - are you allergic?

Sianilaa - no I'm not allergic but I don't seem to like tomatoey curries. Am prepared to be converted though...would you mind posting your recipes?

i use patak's curry paste...25% of a jar, tin of chopped toms, chopped onion, some chunks of meat, maybe chopped apple, sultanas, maybe some chutney and sometimes bulk it out with some veg. dump it all into the pot, stir and then stir once or twice during cooking putting lid back on quickly.

as you can tell i'm rather a lazy/rushed cook

Yes, dreamingofsun I'm with you on both counts, hence thinking a slow cooker is the way to go. Will try your method.....although I love a creamy curry too, if anyone has any suggestions?

Actually, I have one more question. I'm doing a chicken korma recipe which states it tastes better the day after its cooked. Once its cooked, am I supposed to just leave it in the slow cooker and then reheat it in there or do I use the oven/hob? And if I'm reheating it in the SC, do I put on high or low...and how long for?

And (can you tell I'm a novice?) what does the AUTO setting do?

Thanks

i think you could reheat either way, but it would take longer in the slow cooker..not sure how long but maybe over an hour???? i would be inclinded to reheat on hob in pan as easier. i'd probably do it on high as i'm impatient. auto setting starts it off on high and then once its reached the optimum temp reduces heat input down to low. i use it quite often.

so i'd use low if i was cooking for 8 hours, high if 5 and prob auto if bit in between...but obviously varies depending on what you are cooking, eg 1 lump of meat takes longer than chopped things.

you will get the hang of it after a while

Thanks. I was under the misguided impression you just put everything in the pot and after a few hours a lovely meal would appear. I can see there's more to it than that.

Yes, I think the korma would be better reheated on the hob, but I didn't want to potentially ruin the slow cooker effect.

One more question (sorry).....what does a digital slow cooker do that an ordinary one doesn't?

I make a butternut squash and chicken curry :

1/2 jar curry paste (I use Korma), 2 x diced chicken breast, onion, butternut squash, tin coconut milk, chilli, garlic, vegetable stock, split red lentils, olive oil.

Sling it all in the slow cooker. I don't bother sealing the chicken. Cook on low all day. The butternut squash mushes down a little bit to make a thick sauce. If you end up with too much liquid towards the end, then add more lentils.

I usually get 2 or 3 meals (2 adults / 2 children) out of this.

I just bung my bits into my slow cooker just befor 8am and dish up at 6pm!

This is one of my faves

Chicken and pineapple curry

2 tins of toms
crushed garlic clove
diced chicken
chopped onion
medium or mild curry powder.

Also dice fresh pineapple (tinned goes to mush too quick) and leave in fridge until 1 hour before serving.

Chuck it all int he slow cooker and cook on low all day, hour before serving add the pineapple. If at this time you feel it is a little too runny, mix a teaspoon or 2 of cornflour and water and stir in.

Easy peasy. I make a shed load of this and freeze it.

I also do rice pudding in mine and I have to say not being a great fan of rice pudding, this has converted me. The rice goes so soft and fluffy and light its yum.

Rice Pudding

pudding rice
tin of evapourated/condensed milk
milk
sugar/sweetner
nutmeg (grated)

Bung the pudding rice in and sugar. Add the tin of evapourated milk. Rinse the tin out with ordinary milk ( refer to back of pudding rice packet if you want exact amount of liquid/rice ratio but I tend to guestimate with no problems).

Give it a stir, grate the nutmeg in and stir again, grate more nutmeg on the top. Cook on low for about 3 hours. Keep an eye on it the first time just to check the liquid levels (and add more milk if you need to). 3 hoursish later you have very creamy light and fluffy rice pud!

Thank you everyone! Please keep the recipes coming.....

My DH will be totally happy with your rice pudding recipe IWTBSV...he loves it and I've never been able to make it "like his mother did"

Not a curry recipe, but for a slow cooker:

Joint of bacon / gammon

Cover it is coca-cola (or cheap alternative!).

Cook on low for about 6 hours.

Fabulous!

Ooh, and am going to do the rice pudding tomorrow!

I only do tomato ones as well I'm afraid.

Just a tip though, adding a few handfuls of spinich 5 minutes before serving makes the curry a little bit more special.

You can do one with some curry paste and a tin of coconut milk.

I hate tinned tomatoes but can cope with a curry made of v finely chopped fresh tomatoes plus coconut milk.

See, I love tomatoes just not in a curry. The gammon sounds lovely.....what do you serve with it? Could this method be used and then let the gammon go cold, ie over Christmas?

you can also cook bolognese (espec for lasagne as staggers the work) or chilli. i use standard recipes but add stock cube and none of the liquid. sausage casseroles are good using a tin of baked beans as base and adding garlic, onions, tom sauce or mustard, swig of white wine

Lamb, Butternut Squash and Spinach:
thedomesticgoddesschallenge.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/lamb-spinach-and-butternut-squash-curry-slow-cooked/

Chickpea and veg:
thedomesticgoddesschallenge.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/chickpea-and-vegetable-curry/

Apologies for the links but saves me typing them out :)
The lamb one is our favourite and not too "tomatoey" as it's got yog/creme fraiche in.

I would also leave the curry in the slow cooker once it's cooked and then turn it onto "warm" in the morning - should be ready to go at teatime!

a digital cooker just has an electronic timer instead of a "clockwork" or motor driven one. It can have the option to set different heats for different times, but probably no advantage over an "auto" setting to go from high to low once the pot has reached temp (you need to provide more heat when the pot is cold, to get the food to cooking temperature fairly quickly without hovering at "warm" where food poisoning may develop.

I am watching this thread as I am underwhelmed by my slow cooker.

I have heard that you can't use ginger in a slow cooker as it turns bitter and my favorite curries both involve heavy use of ginger so haven't tried them in the slow cooker.

I have tried a minestrone in my slow cooker and it didn't work - the vegetables were not soft enough even after about 7 hours and I had to finish it off in a pan - didn't come out as nice as my traditional one made in a pan.

I have made a puy lentil soup that came out well, can give you my recipe if you'd like.

Everything else I've done seems to come out tasting slow cooker-ish and samey, I'm not impressed. What is the secret?

hnamecage - if you look on the 1st of sianilaa's links it takes you to a blog that has quite an interesting piece on slowcookers with some good tips.

Thanks Piglet John, if I get one, I'll stick with the non-digital version. Yesterday I made a chicken korma which was absolutely delicious. Melt in the mouth meat, a delicious sauce and it was devoured by all of us including my 3yo and 19mo DD's. Will post recipe if anyone is interested. Hnamecage - it had ginger in it, and wasn't at all bitter.

Next on my list for the weekend is sianilaa's lamb dish posted above.

Nhame, "Everything else I've done seems to come out tasting slow cooker-ish and samey"

I've had complaints (!) like that about some of my casseroles, it seems to be caused by an excess of tomatoes, tinned or pureed. Possibly because the tomato acid breaks down the meat too much over time. Your experience may vary. You can add ketchup late in the cooking instead though, it lifts the flavour and goes from red to brown as it caramelises. This is a chefs secret as people will sneer if they find out.

I agree about the minestrone. Carrots and cabbage came out too hard. Pressure cooker is good for them though, and quite fast (also very big).

BTW things with bones in, like lamb chops, can suffer from "bone taint" during long cooking. I've very rarely tasted that, even with a turkey carcass stock.

home

my favourite has ginger in and the sauce is no different whether done on the hob or in the slow cooker.