Back in the days before we could find things like curry paste at the supermarket, our Mums and Nannas used to make this oddly tasty version of 'Indian Curry'.
I have no idea where they got the idea that it in any way resembled a true Indian curry, but it sure was yummy and we all looked forward to Bombay Curry night.
This is an absolute godsend when you're busy. It responds really well to loooooong, slow cooking, and if you treat it gently, will stay moist and tasty without deteriorating into mush as some things do when you leave them in the crock pot for too long. It's also mixed in the slow cooker, so there's no dishes to clean up!
I'm fortunate in that I have one of the old original orange crock pots, and their low setting really seems much 'lower' than the modern slow cookers. That said, if you use my tip of covering the curry with foil and ONLY using the low setting, you should be fine. Another solution if you find your low setting isn't all that low, is to switch the curry off after six hours, and turn it back on two hours before you want to serve it. This is assuming that you're putting the curry on first thing in the morning. I've usually got mine on before I leave to take my daughter to school, so it really does get ten to twelve hours.
So to serve four, you need...
500-600 gms casserole meat (Blade, Oyster Blade, Gravy Beef...I almost always manage to find something on marked down that suits for under $5)
2 tablespoons flour (I use gluten free)
1 dessertspoon Vegeta stock powder or three stock cubes (vegetable ones for this if possible, but doesn't really matter)
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed or 1 teaspoon dried garlic granules or minced garlic
2 tablespoons Tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon curry powder (the old fashioned yellow powder spice...NOT curry paste)
1 tablespoon currants (optional)
1 medium washed potato per person
1/4 cup hot water
Foil
Then just...
Plug in the slow cooker and set it to low.
Trim the meat of obvious fat, and cut into large chunks about 2-2.5cms. Throw it in the slow cooker.
Sprinkle the meat with the flour and stir it in the bowl of the slow cooker, to coat the meat well. There'll be some flour residue in the bottom, and that's fine.
Sprinkle the Vegeta stock powder over the meat, or crumble the stock cubes on top of it.
Add the onion and garlic, the tomato sauce, the curry powder, and the currants if using them.
Add the water, and stir it all well, trying to keep the ingredients evenly distributed to aid the flavour whilst cooking. Do not use more water.
Get a piece of foil twice the length required to cover the ingredients in the slow cooker. Fold it over to double it. This not only insulates the ingredients further, steaming them to keep them succulent, but also prevents the sections of meat not covered by liquid from drying out and becoming unappetising.
Wrap the potatoes in foil and sit them on top of the covered meat.
Put the lid on. Do not disturb except to stir well after four hours.
This will be cooked in six hours if you must eat then. In eight hours, it's really tender and succulent, and in ten or twelve, it's melt-in-the-mouth.
If you must test it, remove the potatoes with tongs, carefully remove the foil and place it on a plate (the underside will be covered in sauce), and stir the ingredients, tasting a little to check for seasoning...or just to taste ;-)
Replace the foil carefully, tucking the curry in like you'd tuck your baby into bed, taking the edges of the foil right up to the sides of the slow cooker, and pop the potatoes back on top. Cover.
Twenty minutes before serving, steam some vegetables. We like diced carrot, celery and corn with ours for a bit of crunch.
To serve, remove the jacket potatoes and the covering foil.
Sit the potatoes in bowls, and cut a cross in the top. Add a little sour cream or butter.
Spoon the chunks of meat next to the potato, and add a liberal amount of the sauce, which will be thick and aromatic.
Add the steamed vegetables in one corner in a little pile and you have a gorgeous bowl of steamy, succulent, fragrant Bombay Curry, just like Mimi's Mum used to make.
Comfort...sigh....
