Slow cooker curry tips

Benefits of slow cooking

Slow cookers are great for cooking dishes low and slow with minimal effort. They work brilliantly for cheap, tough cuts of meat as they become tender from the slow cooking. 

Slow-cooking your curry gives the spices and meat time to release all their flavours and develop a richer-flavoured sauce. 

Slow cookers are a time-efficient way of cooking your curry. You can switch it on in the morning, then your curry will be waiting for you when you get home on the night. Add your favourite Curry Pack, liquid ingredients and your chosen meat/veg to the slow cooker then sit back and relax!

Try our Slow Cooked Lamb Kashmiri or Slow Cooked Beef Rendang recipe to see what all the fuss is about. 

Here are our top tips for getting the most from your slow cooker, with very little effort.

Slow cooker curry tips

Curry Pack: Toast off the spices in a pan for a few minutes then add into the slow cooker. For ease, you can also add the Curry Pack straight into the slow cooker with the required liquid ingredients. 

Use less water: The liquid in a slow cooker doesn’t reduce as much as on the hob, so using too much water can result in a thinner sauce. Use 100ml water for the 2-3 Curry Packs and 200ml for the 4-6 Curry Packs.

Root vegetables: If you’re using root vegetables, make sure these are fully covered in the sauce to help them cook through. 

Creamed Coconut: Finely chop or grate the Creamed Coconut to make sure it dissolves fully into the sauce. 

Use cheap cuts of meat: If you are using meat, cheap cuts are best, as anything lean will dry out. Trim the fat off the meat, and make sure the meat pieces are small and equal-sized. Although a lot of flavour comes from the fat, the long cooking process intensifies the meaty flavour so you won’t miss it! Add the meat into the now warm slow cooker until the liquid just covers the meat and veg.

Don’t stir the pot: It will be just fine without stirring and lifting the lid can lengthen the cooking time by up to 40 minutes.

Coat meat in flour before adding to slow cooker: The flour will help thicken the sauce and add an extra depth of flavour to the dish. 

Season well: Check the seasoning before dishing up, adding salt, sugar or vinegar as appropriate.

Add a garnish: Fresh herbs like coriander and mint will help to balance the dish and cut through those rich flavours. Check out our Garnish Blog for more inspiration. 

Don’t overfill your slow cooker: Ideally, it will be between a half and two-thirds full to allow for even cooking.

We’d love to hear if these tips have helped you in the kitchen. Let us know your feedback on our Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. We love to see your curry creations, so please send us your foodie photos across.