When I was young, we all looked forward to 'curry night' when my mother would serve a chicken or meat casserole cooked with a handful of sultanas - or if we were lucky, a tin of pineapple - sprinkled on after cooking with a teaspoon or two of curry powder. It was a far cry from authentic Indian cooking. Over the last 20 years or so, our love of Indian food has grown and so has our knowledge - we are now aware of the huge variety and subtlety that this cuisine has to offer. Many of us regularly dine in Indian restaurants and buy ready-prepared curries.
At the end of a busy day you are likely to feel tired, hungry and looking forward to sitting down and enjoying a meal. Rather than dashing out for a takeaway or settling for a chilled meal from a packet, wouldn't it be great to serve a delicious home-cooked Indian curry from your slow cooker, ready to serve with rice or accompany with warm breads? This book is packed with a whole range of curry and spicy dishes. Some use curry pastes to keep preparation to an absolute minimum and some have a combination of fresh spices that you blend yourself; at last, you can bring the flavour of your local curry restaurant to your home.
The basic principle behind the slow cooker is that it cooks food slowly at a constant temperature. This is the way that Indian food has been made for centuries and one of the greatest advantages of making curries in the slow cooker is that it develops and enhances the flavour of food; it allows spices to release all their essential oils giving a real depth and intensity to the finished dish. While vegetables retain their texture, it makes even the toughest meat meltingly tender, making long marinating unnecessary.
Slow cookers are also environmentally friendly; their low wattage consumes about the same amount of electricity as a light bulb. They can save up to five times the energy of stove-top and conventional oven cooking, making them ideal for those on a budget. The essentials of slow cooking are incredibly simple, but do have a look at the following few pages before you begin.