What Beef to Use in Slow Cooker Curry

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Although curry dishes are not authentic to the Balkan cuisines, they have gained popularity in the region in recent years. I also use a very famous Balkan ingredient in this curry, Greek yoghurt! For that reason, I decided to include this Easy Beef Curry in a Slow Cooker recipe as a contemporary dish on my blog. It is a recipe that I have created myself from a combination of several other recipes I have tried. I must confess, this curry is one of my most favourite dishes!

LINK BETWEEN BULGARIAN AND ASIAN FOOD

Balkan food is commonly described to be a mixture of Mediterranean and Asian influences. In most Balkan cuisines, vegetarian patties, meat koftas and kofta dishes with sauces are classics. They are very traditional in Indian cooking as well.

An Indian friend of mine, originally from the Northwestern Panjabi part of India, commented recently that his granny in India made something very similar to my Rose petal jam. That intrigued me. It also reminded me, that when my mum and dad came to visit us in the UK from Bulgaria some years ago, and my husband and I took them to a North Indian restaurant in London, my father commented that the food he had in the restaurant reminded him of Bulgarian food. I am still not exactly sure what he meant – was it that, in Bulgarian cuisine, we have a lot of stews, or was it the taste.

Easy slow-cooked beef curry with rice

Indian spice mixes, like garam masala, are not well known in the Balkans, and ginger and cardamon are not commonly used in Balkan cooking. But most of the ingredients in the Indian garam masala spice mix are traditional to the Balkan cuisines. Cumin and black pepper are the most traditional spices in cooking on the Peninsular. Cinnamon, coriander seeds, nutmeg and cloves are very common, too. Curry (masala) and turmeric are ingredients often present in traditional savoury spice mixes, like "chubritsa mixes" or "sharena sol" in Bulgaria. There are definitely some similarities between the Balkan and the Indian traditional cuisines and that is due to the influences from the Middle Eastern cooking traditions in both geographical regions from centuries ago.

But now, let's talk about my curry! I love a good curry and over time I managed to develop my own method for making it. My method is a combination of different techniques, which I adopted over the years from different people. Some of these techniques I learned from Indian friends from the South and North of India, others from professional chefs, and some from my parents. I would like to share these techniques here with you.

VARIATION OF INGREDIENTS

I usually make this recipe with beef, goat meat or chicken. The recipe can also be made with lamb or venison.

If you are cooking beef, the best meat for this recipe is a good quality braising steak. The braising steak, also known as a chuck steak, consists of parts of the neck, shoulder blade and upper arm of the animal. It is tough meat, but it is very flavoursome when slow cooked.

Braising steak

If you are cooking it with chicken, I would recommend cooking it with chicken thighs on the bone, as the bone adds to the flavours of the dish. Same with goat meat, it is best to be on the bone.

Basic ingredients in my Easy Beef Curry in Slow Cooker are ginger, red onions, a lot of garlic and chillis. Adding more of these ingredients will make the flavours more powerful and the texture richer. That is why, when a recipe calls for a 3-inch piece of ginger, I normally use more. I really love the flavour and the texture ginger brings to the dish. It is the same with the garlic and the chillis. However, if you like your curry milder, you can reduce the amount of ginger, garlic and chillis in my recipe to half, just keep in mind that will make a thinner and less flavoursome curry.

Ingredients that give texture to the curry

Spices that make a curry special are, of course, madras, cumin, cardamon, mustard seeds, coriander, black pepper, and cinnamon sticks. If you have garam masala spice mix and curry leaves available, add them to the list.

Bay leaves are great to use in a curry, too. Recent scientific studies have proven that bay leaf converted triglycerides to monounsaturated fats, eliminates heartburn, acidity, and constipation, regulates bowel movements and blood sugar, makes the human body produce insulin, eliminates bad cholesterol, protects the heart, etc.

Preparing spices for the curry

I also like to use good quality red wine in my recipe. I know, wine is not an authentic ingredient in Indian cuisine, but It is scientifically proven that alcohol bonds with the fat and the water molecules, when used in cooking, and hold aromas and flavours in the dish. In other words, it makes your food smell and taste better. Alcohol also helps the meat to cook better.

And here is a very typical Balkan ingredient, which I use in my recipe, the so-called Greek yoghurt. In fact, any thick full-fat yoghurt will work well. If you have lactose intolerance, you can replace the yoghurt with full-fat coconut milk that will also add to the flavours.

Greek yoghurt in the curry

I usually use a good quality tomato puree or sweet Italian chopped tomatoes in this curry. Fresh tomatoes will work fine. Just add some sugar to the curry to kill the acidity in the tomato.

HOW TO PREPARE THIS EASY BEEF CURRY IN A SLOW-COOKER?

Some may consider making the dish too complicated, but believe me, it is not! Follow these easy steps:

1. Prepare the meat

Cut the braising steak into large cubes. Marinate the meat pieces for at least two hours in salted yoghurt.

2. Prepare the vegetable paste

Peel the ginger, garlic, onions. Remove the stalks from the green chillis.

Cut the onions, chillis and ginger into smaller chunks.

Place all these ingredients in the food processor and process to a paste.

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3. Prepare the spices

Place all spice seeds (cumin, cardamom, mustard, coriander and black pepper) in a small heated dry pan on your hob. Roast the seeds on a hot hob until they are fragrant. Break the cardamom seeds and remove the shells, keep the little small seeds inside. Using a mortar and a pestle grind all roasted spice seeds.

Add masala and garam masala to the mortar bowl and stir with the rest of the spices. Dilute the spices with 2 tablespoons of water and stir well with a spoon until the spices combined with the water.

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4. Cook the curry

Heat coconut butter or ghee in your multifunction cooker using the "Saute" function. Brown the meat until the moisture is reduced and the meat has changed colour and turns golden in colour. Remove the meat from the multifunction cooker pan.

Transfer the vegetable paste from your food processor bowl to the multifunction cooker pan and sauté the paste for a few minutes until it is soft.

Add the spices from your mortar to the paste and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add crushed cinnamon stick, curry leaves and bay leaves.

Be careful not to burn the ginger and the spices, because the sauté function on most multifunction cookers can be quite hot. Burning the ginger or the spice mixture will result in a bitter taste in your curry.

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Add the meat to the spiced paste, stir well to coat the meat with the paste and saute for a couple of minutes.

Pour wine when the spices start making a crust on the bottom of the pan. Use a wooden spoon to scrape them from the hot surface of the pan and stir them with the wine, otherwise they will burn. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the wine is reduced.

Pour the tomato puree into the multifunction cooker pan. Add brown sugar to reduce the acidity of the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes until some of the moisture has evaporated. Turn the "Saute" function on your multifunction cooker off.

Add the yoghurt and stir to combine it with the tomato and the spices mixture.

Add water. If you like your curry saucy, double the amount of water in my recipe.

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Sometimes, I like to add a couple of cubed potatoes in my curry, but only when I am making the curry thinner.

If you are replacing the yoghurt with coconut milk, use less water than the amount stated in this recipe because coconut milk contains more liquid than full-fat yoghurt and it will make the curry thinner.

Turn on the "Slow cooking" function of your multifunction cooker, secure the lid on the cooker and let it cook for 4 hours.

HOW TO SERVE EASY BEEF CURRY?

Serve the dish on a bed of cooked balsamic rice, sprinkled with chopped dehydrated onion and fresh coriander on the top.

If the curry is too spicy to your taste, add 1-2 tablespoons of yoghurt.

Enjoy!! Leave a thumb up if you like this recipe.

More Balken Stews: Lentil Stew, Sausage and Bean Stew

Hi there! My name is Eni, and I was born in the Balkans. Join me on my culinary journey to this interesting part of the world, the Balkans, where the east meets the west, and the past meets the present…

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EASY BEEF CURRY COOKED IN A SLOW COOKER

Treat yourself to a restaurant-quality warming curry, full of rich flavours, and easy to prepare. A delicious comforting food for these cold winter nights coming upon us so soon.

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 4 hrs

marinate meat 2 hrs

Total Time 6 hrs 30 mins

• Multifunction cooker

• 500 g beef meat (braising steak recommended) cut into medium cubes
• 1 cup Greek or full-fat yoghurt or full-fat coconut milk
• 80 ml good quality red wine
• 4.5 inch ginger root peeled
• 2 large red onions
• 6 green eye chillis
• 1 head garlic peeled
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 5-6 cardamon seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons masala
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 2 bay leaves
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2-3 tablespoons ghee or coconut butter
• 500 ml tomato puree
• 4 tablespoons Greek or full-fat yoghurt or full-fat coconut milk
• 1 cup water

• Cut the meat into medium size cubes. Stir 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in one cup of full-fat yoghurt. Marinate the beef pieces in the yoghurt mixture for at least 2 hours.

• Peel the ginger, garlic, onions. Remove the stalks from the green chillis. Cut the onions, chillis and ginger into smaller chunks. Place all these ingredients in the food processor and process to a paste.

• Place all spice seeds (cumin, cardamom, mustard, coriander and black pepper) in a small heated dry pan on your hob. Roast the seeds on the hob until they are fragrant. Break the cardamom seeds and remove the shells, keep the little small seeds inside. Using a mortar and a pestle grind all roasted spice seeds.

• Mix the masala and garam masala with the ground spices, add 2 tablespoons of water, stir well with a spoon until all spices are well combined with the water. Leave the spice mixture aside.

• Heat coconut butter or ghee in your multifunction cooker using the "Saute" function. Brown the meat until the moisture is reduced and the meat has changed colour and becomes golden in colour. Remove the meat from the multifunction cooker pan.

• Transfer the ginger/onion/garlic/chilli paste from your food processor bowl to the multifunction cooker pan and saute it for a few minutes until the paste is soft. If needed, add some more ghee or coconut butter.

• Transfer the spice mixture from your mortar to the pan with the ginger paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the crushed cinnamon stick, curry leaves and bay leaves. Be careful not to burn the ginger and the spices, as the saute function on most multifunction cookers can be quite hot, and that will result in a bitter taste in your curry.

• Add the meat to the spiced paste in the multifunction cooker pan, stir to coat the meat well with the paste and saute for 1-2 minutes until the meat absorbs the flavours. Pour red wine and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the wine is reduced.

• Pour the tomato puree into the multifunction cooker pan. Add one teaspoon of brown sugar to the tomato sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes until some of the moisture has evaporated. Turn the "Saute" function on your multifunction cooker off.

• Add 4 tablespoons of yoghurt and stir to combine well into the tomato and spices mixture.

• Add water. If you like your curry with more sauce, double the amount of water in my recipe.

• Turn the Slow cooking function of your multifunction cooker on, secure the lid on the cooker and let the curry cook for 4 hours.

• Serve the dish on a bed of cooked balsamic rice, sprinkled with dehydrated onion bits and chopped fresh coriander on the top. If the curry is too spicy to your taste, add 1-2 tablespoons of yoghurt.

Keyword Beef curry, Beef curry in multifunction cooker, Best beef curry, Curry, Easy beef curry

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Source: https://www.thebalkanfoodie.com/easy-beef-curry-in-slow-cooker/

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