Slow cooked beef curry

For this BEEF CURRY we used a supermarket beef joint labelled 'slow roast'. I wasn't too sure what part of the animal the joint came from, but it contained very little fat. 

Usually when we slow roast, we like to use meat such as brisket or shin as it has a good marbling of fat which helps tenderise the meat. 

Because we were making a this curry in the slow cooker, I thought it wouldn't matter too much. In fact, the end result was a very rich and tender curry which wasn't swimming in fat. 

If you love curry, this simple mix of spices will serve you over and over again, with all types of meat, fish and vegetables. Take a look at our recipes - we've tried the spice mix a number of times. Your initial outlay on dry spices will not be wasted - and you'll enjoy some very fresh tasting curries. This beef curry was surprisingly low in calories too (see recipe). Here's how to make it:

LAZY BEEF CURRY RECIPE 

Cooking method: Slow cooker

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 6 - 8 hours in slow cooker (check manufacturers guide)

INGREDIENTS

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

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1 kg slow roast beef - cubed 

3 medium onions - diced 

couple of garlic cloves - crushed

one whole chilli 

1 tsp turmeric powder

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

500ml stock (chicken or vegetable)

 (2cm) chopped ginger

10-20g of honey 

salt

pepper

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Begin by making the dry spice mix. TIP: This can be made ahead of time and stored in an air tight container.

Dry fry the cumin, fennel, coriander, fenugreek, seeds in an oil free pan until you can hear the seeds popping. 

Remove from pan and grind into a powder. 

Add the turmeric powder.

In a separate frying pan add the diced onions and sweat in a little oil on a low heat. Cook until translucent. 

Add the crushed garlic and chopped chilli and cook for a few minutes. 

Place this onion mixture into a large saucepan and add the tomatoes, stock, ginger, and the dry spice mix. 

Simmer for around 15-20 minutes.

BLEND the whole mixture add the honey (to taste) and season with salt and pepper. Depending on what stock you use will depend on how much seasoning you need.

Brown the pieces of beef and add to the slow cooker. (You may also like to add some more chunky onions at this stage to add texture).

The curry can be slow cooked overnight - check your manufacturers instructions. Cook until the meat is tender.

We estimate this will make 8 portions of beef curry at around 360 calories each. 

Serve with rice (additional calories).

*****

TIP: Do you know how many calories you are allowed each day?

Here's a link to our very first blog post about our weight loss journey, which we began in January 2011. We started this blog as a way of recording what we ate while losing weight. The blog is a food diary, and contains lots of recipes, tips and ideas about losing weight.

You'll find our WEIGHT LOSS PLAN here. 

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