I love something slow cooked as it often means it is simple to make, I can “throw” most of the ingredients in the one pan at once and it either serves lots of people or gives me lots of leftovers for the week ahead. People often ask me how I have time to do all of the cooking I do and everything else in my life. Slow cooking of large portions is how! Why cook one meal at a time.
I serve this curry with roasted aubergine and if I have the time I add a homemade coconut naan bread (courtesy of Pete Evans The Paleo Way website - you can sign up for free) to soak up the curry juices. The sweet potato in the curry turns into a puree making a delicious sauce alongside all of the spices. There is no chilli so it isn’t spicy.
Slow cooked meat is not only melt in the mouth but easy to digest for our bodies and are perfect when our bodies are struggling to digest properly or we are run down. It is also a great source of not only protein but fat too. The broth it is cooked in is great for gut healing with the healing amino acids plus the many minerals extracted from the bones. Then there are the rest of the nutrient dense ingredients - not forgetting the turmeric for inflammation - a personal favourite of mine with my long term management of my autoimmune condition.
I serve it alongside finely chopped sautéed or raw silverbeet. Silverbeet are full of vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A, C, B6, folate and K in addition to potassium and manganese. This in addition to the curry means we have a great balance of high quality proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
This is the perfect meal to make for a Sunday dinner and for the week ahead. Enjoy!
Serves: 4 - 6
Cooking duration: 30 minutes prep time and 2.5 hours cooking time
Ingredients
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 large brown onion
3 cloves of garlic
5 - 10 fresh curry leaves (I buy mine fresh and store them in the freezer for when required)
750g organic chuck beef, diced 2cm cubes
1 large organic sweet potato, diced 1 cm squares
4 tomatoes chopped into medium sized chunks
1.5 cups beef or chicken stock
2 cups of mushrooms - cut into quarters
1/2 cup of coconut cream
2 -3 eggplants (1/2 per person)
2 tbs coconut oil
Coriander to serve
Method
Turn on the oven to 150C.
Combine all of the spices in a bowl and mix with the apple cider vinegar to form a paste. Set aside.
Dice the onion or use a mandolin and finely slice it and finely chop the garlic.
Heat the coconut oil in a casserole dish over a medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic for 5 - 7 minutes until very soft.
Whilst cooking, peel and chop the sweet potato into 1cm cubes, tomatoes into medium sized chunks and dice the meat.
Add the curry leaves to the onion and garlic mixture and cook for 1 more minute.
Add the spice paste and stir into the mixture. Cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
Mix in the sweet potato, tomato and beef and stir so all coated in the spice mixture.
Add the beef of chicken stock to the mixture and stir.
Place the lid on the casserole dish and transfer to the oven for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, remove from the oven and stir. Add the chopped mushrooms and coconut cream. Continue to heat on the hob for 30 minutes until the beef is tender and breaks apart.
Turn up the oven to 180C.
Slice each of the eggplants in half, and score the inner side of each with deep diagonal lines with a knife approximately 1cm a part. First slice in one direction, then do a second set of diagonal lines that intersect the first set. Take care not to piece the skin on the other side.
Melt 2 tbs of coconut oil on the hob and brush this over all sides of the eggplant. Season with salt and pepper and place on a baking tray skin side down.
Place in the oven and roast for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown.
Whilst you wait for both the eggplant and the curry to finish cooking, finely chop the coriander.
Season the curry with salt and pepper as required.
Serve the curry on top of finely diced silverbeet (slightly sautéed if preferred) and topped with coriander. Serve alongside the roasted eggplant.
Optional extra: The curry is delicious as is but if you fancy and have some extra time on your hands, serve with coconut naan breads. The recipe can be found on Pete Evans The Paleo Way website and they are really easy to make.