Everything but the Kitchen Sink – Indian Curry in a Slow Cooker

So I've been lazy lately.  I was out of town two weeks ago and last week I had a lot of catching up to do around the house, so I'm long overdo for a recipe.  I promise I'll make something this week, but in the meantime, I wanted to post this AMAZING recipe I received from my lovely colleague, Katie Boswell.  She prepared this delicious meal a couple weeks ago and my mouth has been watering since.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink – Indian Curry in a Slow Cooker
Source: Katie Boswell
Photo Credit: Katie Boswell

Prep time is about 20 minutes and cook time is about approximately 4 hours.

This recipe was inspired by a curry dish my mother made that I felt could be adapted to a slow cooker. Be prepared, it does have an authentic Indian heat to it!" - Katie Boswell

You can put pretty much use any vegetable in a curry dish but I felt the heartier ones would hold up better in the slow cooker, Don’t be scared to add your fave veggies to this dish. Butternut squash, eggplant, etc would all be nice additions.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 sweet onion chopped chopped/slice/diced to the size you prefer
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup of Curry powder
• 2 tbs of flour ( I recommend Wondra flour)
• 1 tbs chili powder
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 2 or 3 large bell peppers, color of your choosing
• 1/2 head of Cauliflower pulled apart
• 1 cup of chickpeas
• 1 14 oz can coconut milk, unsweetened
• 1 ½ cup carrots cut into matchstick size
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 oz sliced mushrooms (I use a blend of baby bella, shitake and oyster but any ones will do)

Directions

1. Place potatoes , onion and garlic in the bottom of your slow cooker
2. Combine curry powder, flour, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl. Sprinkle spices over the potato mixture and coat evenly
3. Add bell peppers, cauliflower, chick peas, coconut milk, and stir to combine
4. Cover the slow cooker and cook on Low until the mixture is bubbling, add some water or additional coconut milk if it looks dry and allow to cook on low for about 3 hours or until the potatoes are tender and can easily be cut in half with a fork
5. Add carrots, mushrooms and cilantro and cook until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes
6. Salt dish to taste
7. Garnish bowl dish with cilantro to serve

Curry Tip: Some curry spice can end up a tad bitter when not used in the correct proportion or cooked at too high a heat. If you find a curry to be a tad bitter add 1 tsp of salt + 1 tsp sugar and stir, repeat until the bitterness is gone.

The First Post

What do people do when a new year approaches and last year's grease and grime needs to be polished and shined?  They create new year's resolutions.  (Yes, I rhymed to mimic the cliché concept of a new year's resolution.)  Not to be one of those people, but I simply thought starting something new, fresh, healthy, whatever you want to call would be good for me.  2011 was a rough year and I'd like to be more active in the world around me.  In other words, I feel like I need to experience things more thoroughly.  Therefore, I've taken it upon myself to document one of my goals in hopes of staying more in touch with it.  This goal, er new year's resolution, is to make a unique vegan meal at least once a week, every week for the entire year.

Yeah, this seems small to some, but to those who know me, this will be a project.  Although I maintain a pretty much vegan diet (I eliminate dairy and eggs from my vegetarian diet, but I do still eat honey), most days of the week I eat cereal or pb&j for dinner.  I knoooowwwww, it's terrible and I knnoooowww, I'm completely unhealthy, but fooock, I'm tired when I get home from my one hour, three bus transfers, commute home from Washington, DC.  And yeah, I realize some have it way worse, but that's why I'm trying to change!  I want to eat healthy and I think by preparing a well-balanced vegan meal at least once a week, I will have left-overs and possibly gain more experience in cooking, which could lead to more willingness to cook food that doesn't come out of a box several times a week.

I bought a couple vegan cook books and consolidated my vegan recipes from the past.  The goal is to make something unique every week.  I do not want to make the same thing twice!!  If I do make a repeat, that meal will not count as a my one meal for the week.

So here it goes.