Easy Slow Cooked Beef Curry

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Delicious slow cooker beef curry being spooned from a dish.

5 from 6 votes

My slow cooker recipe for beef curry is rich and warming, with the tenderest meat and a sumptuous savoury tomato gravy. Hands-off and perfect for batch cooking and making ahead.

Servings: people

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time15

Cook Time4

Total Time4 15

Ingredients

1 large onion - peeled and finely diced
1 tsp vegetable oil
600 g braising / stewing steak
1 tbs fresh ginger - finely grated
2 cloves garlic
2 tbs curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chilli flake - or to taste
1 tsp paprika
1 cinnamon stick
6 cardamon pods
2 tsp cumin
1 can tomatoes - regular 440g can
2 tbs tomato paste
1 beef stock cube / stock pot
2 tsp cornflour - optional to thicken

Instructions

Peel and finely dice the onion. Then sauté the onion in a little oil until it is starting to turn golden. Remove from the pan and add to the slow cooker.
1 large onion, 1 tsp vegetable oil
Fry off the diced beef in a little oil or dripping, until it starts to colour. It is best to do this in stages, so that there is plenty of room in the pan. If any liquid comes off the beef, pour it all into the slow cooker pot.
600 g braising / stewing steak
Return all the beef to the pan. Now add the ground spices, garlic, chilli and ginger. Give it all a good stir
1 tbs fresh ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tbs curry powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp chilli flake, 1 tsp paprika, 2 tsp cumin
If using a stock cube make into a thin paste with a little water, then add with the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker and stir well, before putting the lid on.
1 tsp chilli flake, 1 cinnamon stick, 6 cardamon pods, 1 can tomatoes, 2 tbs tomato paste, 1 beef stock cube / stock pot
Cook for half an hour on high to bring the curry to a simmer. You can then continue to cook for a further 3–4 hours on high, or turn down to low for 5–6 hours. Give it a stir from time to time while it cooks if you can, but don't worry if you can't.
The cardamom pods and cinnamon stick tend to float to the top towards the end of cooking, so lift them out with a spoon. If you used a lean stewing steak, add a knob of butter to enrich the curry.
You can adjust the consistency to make it thicker if you prefer. Leave the lid partially open for the last 30–40 minutes of cooking OR thicken with cornflour at the end of cooking. To do this, Put 2 heaped teaspoons of cornflour/cornstarch into a small bowl. Scoop out a few spoons of the curry sauce and stir into the cornflour to make a thin paste. Pour into the curry and stir through.
2 tsp cornflour
If you are using spinach, add it now. Cram as much as you can into the slow cooker, and put the lid on so it starts to wilt. After a couple of minutes, stir it in. Then garnish with coriander leaf and serve.

Notes

For a thicker curry

If you prefer a thicker curry sauce, you can thicken the curry. You can do this by leaving the lid ajar for the last 30-40 minutes of cooking, to allow the sauce to reduce, but my preferred method is with cornflour, at the end of cooking.

Put 2 heaped teaspoons of cornflour/cornstarch into a small bowl. Then scoop out a few spoons of the curry sauce and stir into the cornflour to make a thin paste. Pour into the curry and stir through. The sauce will start to thicken. If you want to go further, repeat.

When using cornflour to thicken a dish, ALWAYS add liquid to the cornflour in a separate bowl to make a paste before you stir it into the sauce. NEVER add dry cornflour to a dish of hot sauce. You will never get the lumps out.

Leftovers

Allow to cool, and as soon as it is cold pack into an airtight container. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for 3 months. Defrost (from frozen) and reheat in a pan on the stove top, or heat in the microwave, making sure it is properly hot before serving.

Nutritional Information

This recipe is 14 Weight Watchers points per portion

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.