Slow Cooker Beef or Lamb Vindaloo Recipe
A very hot Vindaloo with one Vindaloo kit and beef or lamb. Splitting the vinegar between the pan stage and the finish keeps a brighter tang at the end.
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 Vindaloo Curry Club Kit (Sachets 1, 2 and 3)
- 400–500g beef chuck or boneless lamb shoulder
- 1 large onion, finely chopped or thinly sliced
- 400g chopped tomatoes or passata
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
- Optional: fresh coriander
- Rice and/or naan to serve
From home
- 2–3 tbsp neutral oil or ghee
- 50ml water in total, including water for the spice paste
In the Vindaloo kit
- Spice Pouch 1: Vindaloo Base Spice Mix
- Spice Pouch 2: Vindaloo Heat & Vinegar Spice Mix
- Spice Pouch 3: Vindaloo Finishing Spice Mix
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
Brown the meat
- Brown the meat with some of the oil and transfer to the slow cooker.
Cook the onion
- Cook the onion in the remaining oil until golden and sweet.
Build the paste
- Lower the heat. Add 'Sachet 1: Pan Starter' with 2–3 tbsp of the measured water and cook for 60–90 seconds.
Tomatoes, heat and vinegar
- Add the tomatoes and cook down for 8–10 minutes until thick and darker.
- Add 'Sachet 2' and 2 tsp of the vinegar. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring.
- Add the remaining measured water and transfer to the slow cooker.
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.
Finish on the hob
- If the sauce is watery, lift out the tender meat and reduce the sauce in a saucepan, stirring regularly. Return the meat. If the sauce is already thick enough, finish meat and sauce together in the pan.
- Add 'Sachet 3'. Simmer gently for 3–5 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining 1 tsp vinegar, taste and rest for 5 minutes before serving.
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 Vindaloo
A very hot curry-house Vindaloo with rich tomato, garlic, chilli, mustard and a sharp white wine vinegar tang.
Make it with Curry Club
The Vindaloo kit contains the spice blends used in this slow cooker recipe.