I saw a meme a few weeks ago that had Melbourne firmly placed in the season of “The spring of deception”. We had just had an amazing week of warm weather and true to form Melbourne has turned chilly again. But chilly does mean it is easy to get slow cooker meals over the line again with the kids. They are not that keen on slow cooker meals in summer.
Now in the method for this Slow Cooker Beef Vindaloo I do write it up with some steps to brown the meat first. I do think this produces a slightly better taste in the end product but when I have been short on time, I have just made the paste then thrown it all into the slow cooker and it has been fine. My recommendation is to do what time allows!
The great thing about making your own beef vindaloo is that you can adjust the spiciness to suit your family. With this recipe you can omit the dried chillies and de-seed the fresh chillies for a milder curry. Also as it is cooked in the slow cooker you have great flexibility with the meat you use and can get away with cheaper cuts, so it is good for the budget!
Slow Cooker Beef Vindaloo
Ingredients
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 dried red chillies omit if prefer milder curry
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 6 garlic cloves
- 5 cm piece of ginger finely chopped
- 3 cm piece of turmeric finely chopped
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 kg diced blade
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 fresh red chillies stemmed, seeded (or keep the seeds if you like it spicy!), and finely chopped
- 400 grams tinned tomatoes
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan on a medium heat and add peppercorns, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and roughly chopped dried chillies Toast them for a minute or two or until you have a fragrant smell of spices.
- Add the toasted spices to a coffee grinder and grind until they are like a fine powder. Transfer to a mortar and pestle, add crushed garlic cloves, ginger, turmeric and use the pestle to combine.
- Next add 1 tbsp olive oil, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon to the mortar and use the pestle again until you have combined ingredients to make a paste.
- Add 2 tbsp oil to the frying and heat on a medium high. Add in the onion, fry for a couple of minutes, then add in the chilli and fry for another minute. Add in the beef and brown the meat. Once browned add in the paste and cook for a couple of minutes, then transfer to the slow cooker.
- Add in the tinned tomatoes and cook on high for 3- 4 hours or 6-8 hours on low.
You can find other family friendly recipes here: