MMMmmm Slow Cooked Vegetable Curry and Rice is a definite repeat recipe in my house. I made the curry which contained vegetables only in order for us all to eat it. The vegetables I used were just what I had left in the fridge so it contained mushrooms, onion, sweet potato and broccoli along with lentils to bulk it out a bit. I added some spices turmeric, cumin and curry powder plus tomato puree. I switched the [amazon_textlink asin=’B0000C6WH1′ text=’slow cooker’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’wwwlovetobake-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’093bd4bb-88ba-11e7-ac08-91258a459ca8′] on before I took the children out for the day. When we got home the smell was delicious and I added 2 cupfuls of rice plus a bit more water to ensure there was plenty of liquid to cook the rice. Although, I had read it would take up to two hours for the rice to cook I left the slow cooker on a high setting for 30 minutes then switched it off as the rice looked cooked and I didn’t want it to turn to mush.
The Naan Breads were nearly forgotten about until one of the children reminded me so I quickly set about preparing the dough which thankfully is really easy to make. It contains self raising flour, natural yoghurt and a drizzle of oil. Once the dough is made it is a case of rolling out pieces of the dough very thinly and dry frying them in a frying pan. Turn them over to cook the other side and that is it. Last time, I made Naan breads I cooked them in the oven but I can tell you they work just as well in the frying pan. They may not be authentic naan breads but they are still yummy. The children love them. In fact, one daughter would like to use them to make pizza with which I think is quite a good idea and one I will try in the future. The naans soaked up the curry perfectly and everyone seemed quite well fed and content. That was, until I got the jelly and icecream out and suddenly everyone had room for some pudding. After a quick rendition of “jelly on a plate”and a dance around the kitchen with the little ones I have retired to my bedroom to try and catch up with my writing. The earplugs are in so I can’t hear the rest of the household whilst I try and finish some writing.
I am sharing this recipe as we really enjoyed it ( and I don’t make a lot of savoury recipes to share). I have started working on my photography techniques and been reading about how to take better shots. I am now using Paint.net which is a free download through Microsoft. It seems quite good so I am busy editing some photos today in between other jobs. Let me know what you think of my new photos which I have edited. I am nearly finished my shop page so I am getting rather excited and a bit impatient as everything takes so long to get up and running.
[lt_recipe name=”Slow Cooked Vegetable Curry and Rice” servings=”4″ prep_time=”20M” cook_time=”5H40M” total_time=”6H” difficulty=”Easy” summary=”This recipe can be made with chicken, beef etc as it is cooked in the slow cooker for a long time and cheaper cuts of meat cook beautifully in the slow cooker. nutritionally, one portion contains 902 calories, 9.8g total fat (13% daily total fat), 169.4g total carbohydrate (62% daily total carbohydrate), 20.9g fibre (74% daily fibre) (based on a 2000 calorie diet).” print=”yes” image=”https://www.love-to-bake.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/vegcurryin-slow-cooker12.jpeg” ingredients=”For the curry:;1 sweet potato (peeled and chopped);8 mushrooms (washed and sliced);1 cup of red lentils;1 onion (peeled and chopped);1/2 a broccoli (chopped);2 tbsp tomato puree;1 tsp turmeric;2 tsps curry powder;1 tsp smoked paprika;1/2tsp cumin;water to height of the vegetables;For the rice:;2 cups of long grain rice;For the Naan breads:;2 cups self raising flour;2 cups natural yoghurt;drizzle of olive oil to help form a dough (about 1tbsp)” ]For the curry:;Add all the ingredients to a slow cooker.;Switch on to high setting for 4- 5 hours.;For the rice:;Add the rice to the slow cooker and cooked curry.;Mix in and add more water to ensure enough liquid for the rice to cook.;Switch on high heat for 30 minutes.;Check the rice is cooked.;After 30 minutes switch off and leave with the lid on.;!For the Naan breads:;In a bowl weigh out the ingredients and mix to a dough.;Add oil to ensure the dough comes away from the bowl. (Do not add to much);Roll out small pieces of the dough quite thinly. ;Dry fry for 2 minutes each side, on a medium heat, till golden brown.;Serve warm with the curry and rice.[/lt_recipe]
This is a basic recipe for a slow cooker meal which you can add to and change to suit whatever you need. You can add meat to the curry such as chicken, beef as these cook really well in the slow cooker. Also, you can change the spices, add garlic (of which I had none in ), change the vegetables or rice. The list is endless as to how you can alter this meal. The curry which I made was quite a dry one in that there wasn’t a lot of sauce which made a nice change but as I like to have my rice drowning in curry sauce so next time I make this meal I will keep an eye on the sauce. Maybe, I will cook the rice separate which sort of defeats the object of the slow cooker but I think a lot of the sauce was soaked up into the rice. More water was needed to make sure the meal had more of a sauce when it was served up.
Nutritional Information
Nutritionally, this meal is low in fat and sugar. The fibre content, although not bad, could be increased by using brown rice in the recipe. The protein content is quite reasonable but can be increased by using meat in the recipe. This is a healthy meal as the calorie content is quite low so it is a good option for those who are slimming. There are many vitamins and minerals present in this recipe due to the vegetables and pulses used. A great meal all round for the whole family to enjoy and benefit from. I have included the vitamins and minerals just to show you the levels of these elements which are so good and as none of the cooking liquid is removed due to using one pot to cook the whole meal in then the meal is very nutritious. Even though some of the vitamins are water soluble, such as Vitamin C, they are not lost as they remain in the cooking water and in this meal you consume the cooking water as well (not pour it down the drain) but the high heat of the cooking may destroy some of these water soluble vitamins. Something to look into further. Allergy wise the recipe is egg free, milk free, low in sugar, nut free, fish free and soy free. It can be made gluten free if the flour used is of a gluten free variety.
Tomorrow is a shopping day for me as I need to get the children organised for school. I have really enjoyed not having to hurry and get up and out in a morning with them for school, deal with all the after school jobs but at the same time I am looking forward to the time to myself a bit more. No doubt I will be complaining about the military operation (that is how it is with four children and three schools) which all starts in just over a week. 🙁
Still lots to do today but looking at this blog post it may take a while to read this one ( I have rattled on a bit). Enjoy anyway, as I have enjoyed writing and researching this work. Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a comment. 🙂