Slow Cooker Beef or Lamb Jalfrezi Recipe
One Jalfrezi kit with beef chuck or lamb shoulder. Sachet 3 is mixed with water and split: most goes in at the start, a portion is refrigerated for a bright hob finish with freshly fried onion and pepper.
How this recipe works
These curries start with browning and building the sauce in a pan, then cook low and slow until the meat is tender. You finish with a short simmer on the hob so the sauce and finishing spices come together — the slow cooker cannot do that final step on its own.
Ingredients
To buy
- 1 complete Jalfrezi Curry Club Kit (Sachets 1, 2 and 3)
- 450–500g beef chuck or boneless lamb shoulder
- 1 large onion, sliced (about 200 g)
- 1 green pepper, thickly sliced
- Optional: fresh coriander
- Rice and/or naan to serve
From home
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil (2 tbsp for browning, 1 tbsp for vegetables)
- 150ml cold water in total: 100ml at the start and 50ml reserved for finishing
In the Jalfrezi kit
- Spice Pouch 1: Jalfrezi Starter Pan Blend
- Spice Pouch 2: Jalfrezi Base Spice Blend
- Spice Pouch 3: Jalfrezi Finishing Spice Blend
Equipment
- Slow cooker
- Large frying pan or wok
- Saucepan for reducing the sauce if needed
Before you start
- Use fully thawed meat and start cooking promptly.
- Cook on LOW or HIGH, not the WARM setting.
- Keep the lid on during the main slow cook.
- Choose a cooker suited to the batch and follow its required fill level and minimum-liquid instructions.
- Beef: use chuck or another cut sold for long braising, trimmed of hard fat, cut into roughly 3–4 cm pieces.
- Lamb: use boneless shoulder, trimmed of excess surface fat, cut into roughly 3–4 cm pieces.
| Meat | LOW | HIGH |
|---|---|---|
| Beef chuck | 7–9 hours | 4–5 hours |
| Lamb shoulder | 6–8 hours | 3½–5 hours |
Cook until the meat yields easily to a fork. Actual time depends on your cooker, cut and batch size — extend cooking if the meat is still tough.
Method
Prepare the reserved sauce
- Whisk 'Sachet 3: Finishing Spice Blend' thoroughly into the 150ml cold water.
- Stir well immediately before measuring 50ml into a clean covered container. Refrigerate until the finish.
- Keep it separate from raw meat and utensils used for raw meat. The remaining 100ml is for the start.
Brown the meat and build the base
- Brown the meat in batches with 2 tbsp oil.
- Lower the heat, add 'Sachet 1: Starter Pan Blend' and 'Sachet 2: Base Spice Blend', and stir for 30 seconds without scorching.
Start the sauce
- Stir the starting 100ml Sachet 3 mixture again, pour it into the pan and scrape up the browned juices.
- Heat through while stirring, then transfer meat and sauce to the slow cooker.
- Follow your appliance’s minimum-liquid instructions if more water is needed.
Slow-cook
- Cover and slow-cook until the meat is tender: beef LOW 7–9 hours or HIGH 4–5 hours; lamb shoulder LOW 6–8 hours or HIGH 3½–5 hours. Keep the lid on. Towards the end, skim excess surface fat if needed.
- The onion powder in Sachet 2 supplies onion flavour during this stage.
Fry the vegetables
- Shortly before serving, fry the sliced onion and pepper in the remaining 1 tbsp oil, in batches if needed.
- Aim for lightly coloured onions and peppers that retain some bite.
Finish on the hob
- Transfer the meat and sauce to a wide pan. If watery, remove the meat while reducing the sauce first.
- Stir the refrigerated 50ml Sachet 3 mixture thoroughly and add it.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 5–8 minutes, stirring, until the tomato and spices taste cooked and the sauce coats the meat.
- Return the meat if removed, fold in the fried vegetables for the final 1–2 minutes and serve.
- If the sauce is thin, reduce it rather than adding extra thickener.
Larger batches
To cook more, multiply all ingredients and kits in proportion, not just the meat or water. Use an appliance suited to the batch size.
About Jalfrezi
A vibrant medium-hot curry-house Jalfrezi with rich tomato, fresh green pepper, onion and a lively chilli kick.
Make it with Curry Club
The Jalfrezi kit contains the spice blends used in this slow cooker recipe.