We love slow cooker curry in our house and easily eat one every week. I love being able to chuck something on first thing in the morning and know that all I need to do for dinner that night is cook some rice (I often do that in advance and freeze it too, saving even more time!).
This slow cooker chickpea and pumpkin curry is slightly sweet, creamy and very mild and a huge hit with my kids, especially my 2.5 year old who will ask for curry for days after we've had this one. Chickpeas are a fantastic source of fibre and magnesium, two nutrients most of us need extra of! The spices are great for settling tummies and reducing inflammation and the veggies are generally the cheapest you can get, making this a very cheap (and nutritious!) family meal.
It freezes well (minus the potatoes) and tastes even better when kept in the fridge for a few days before eating. I hope you enjoy my favourite slow cooker curry! x
Serves 4-6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 mins in a hurry; 6 hours slow cooked
INGREDIENTS
1 onion, chopped
4-6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 inch piece of fresh turmeric, peeled and finely chopped (OPTIONAL but delicious)
1 medium potato, washed and cubed
roughly two cups butternut pumpkin, cubed
1 medium zucchini, cubed
1 tin diced tomato (salt reduced)
1 tin coconut cream
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed well (or 300 g pre-soaked and cooked chickpeas)
1 tbs sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
few cracks of pepper to taste
1 ½-2 tbs curry powder
1 tsp stock paste
couple handfuls of chopped greens like kale or silverbeet
METHOD
Heat the sesame oil in a pan, add the onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric. Sauté on a medium heat until the onion is translucent (approx. 5 minutes). This step intensifies the flavour, but can be totally skipped if your in a hurry.
Set up your slow cooker*. Chuck in the cooked onion mix, and the rest of the ingredients, and combine well.
Cook for 6 hours on low heat (stir occasionally to prevent the sides drying out). Chuck in the chopped greens in the last 10 minutes or so and mix through. Serve with cooked brown rice, quinoa or cauliflower rice. A dollop of natural yogurt goes very well with this too!
*If you don’t have a slow cooker, this can easily be slowed cooked in the oven at 180 degrees for 1 ½-2 hours, just chuck it in a casserole dish or dutch oven (you will need to stir occasionally). It can also make a pretty quick meal by cooking on the stove top in a large pot. Follow step one, then add the veggies and sauté for a few minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. It’ll be tasty but the flavours won’t be as rich.
