Can you cook an Indian curry in a slow cooker?

Question

I have to leave in the morning, but I have to cook for the day and we eat about 3:00 pm so I like to use the slow cooker, but I'm afraid that a curry might break down in the process.

Answer 1

Yes, either from scratch or a pre-mixed curry powder. Just put your stuff in and turn the cooker on.

Answer 2

Hi, I found this page which has many Indian slow cooker recipes with ratings, so you can pick the best!  I use this website all the time, hope it helps!!  Good luck ;)

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?ca...

Answer 3

yes you can but leave the exhaust fan on or the whole house will smell

Answer 4

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker...

Answer 5

Good answers! You absolutely can cook any type of curry as already noted in a slow cooker. If you are using meat such as lamb, beef or pork, I would sear the meat just before adding it to the cooker. This seals in juices and flavor. It is difficult to cook potatoes and meats together in a slow cooker, but you can cook the potatoes separately and add them at the end. As someone noted, when you add creams or yogurts to Indian cooking, do it only for the last 15 minutes or so, (same with ground nuts and your garam masala.)

You should use less liquids than when you simmer your curry on the stove because juices coming out of your ingredients will add a lot of liquid. (I never add more than a quarter cup at the start - you can always add a little more later, but I find I almost never have to.

How long you cook will depend on the size and quality of the chunks of meat you are using. Larger tougher chunks require longer cooking. I use 1/2 inch by 1 inch pieces of fairly tough meats and 1 kg is tender and ready in less than 4 hours. Chicken is usually ready in about 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

One person noted about salt. It should always be added only at the end! Not only to avoid over salting, but salt will make most ingredients tougher if cooked for any length of time.

Answer 6

There is a whole genre of Indian Cooking called Dum Pukht Cuisine, see  extract below from Wiki.

You did not specify whether you wanted vegetarian or not -- but this Slow-Cooking style has a wide variety of dishes in both. One particular dish, vegetarian, is called, Dum Aloo --which is extremely popular in Indian restaurants. The quality of veggies/lentils, spices, gravies,  seep in slowly merging and then bursting to the end result, like a song, retaining the integrity of the main ingredients. Slow cooking gives you a dish with lots of character, exceptional flavors and addictive tastes. You will return home to wafting aromas that will entice you.

****Extract :

Slow Oven or Dum Pukht has become one of the most refined forms of cooking in India, even though the style is no more than 200 years old. Slow Oven means cooking on very low flame, mostly in sealed containers, slowly, allowing the meats to cook, as far as possible, in their own juices and bone-marrow. The spices used are less than those in traditional Indian cooking, with fresh spices and herbs for flavouring . In some cases, cooking dough is spread over the container, like a lid, to seal the foods.

This is known as a purdah (veil), but on cooking becomes a bread which has absorbed the flavors of the food and the two are, therefore, best eaten together. In the end, Dum Pukht food is about aroma, when the seal is broken on the table and the fragrance of an Avadhi repast floats in the air.

Indian cuisine has a range and variety that is extraordinary, with each region contributing its own flavor. Modern Indian cooking borrows selectively from these diverse styles, assimilates and adapts them to suit the palate. The richness of Indian food, therefore continues to grow.

Its famous recipes include Dum Chicken Biryani, Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani, Nihari Gosht, Dal Bukhara, Mirch ka Salan, etc. This cuisine is popular in Central UP (Awadh), Punjab (India), Kashmir (India) and Pakistan.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dum_Pukht"

So, the answer to your question is YES.

Answer 7

I am a former chef and do it all the time, whether it has all veg, some meat, a soya base, dal which is a lentil or bean based one.

It actually is better slow cooked, like tomato sauce and stews it takes on a whole different character when cooked slowly the flavour and spice are much more refined.

If you adding an dairy like sour cream, cream or yougart leave that for the very last as it will separate or curdle, and limit the salt you can finish the seasoning when your home and ready to serve, the salt like hot peppers can elevate over time and make it taste to hot or salty, be careful.

Answer 8

i love to slow cook all of my sauces...they come out richer