Whether for a chilly day, Meatless Monday or craving exotic spices of the Far East, Slow Cooker Spicy Madras Vegetable Curry with Coconut Milk will liven up your dining table. Hearty and filling, you’ll love the flavors, aromas and textures of this recipe.
This post is shared as part of Boulder Locavore’s ongoing partnership with Silk, exploring healthy lifestyles choices and exciting plant-based dietary options. All opinions are my own.
We are rolling into the comfort food season and for me that often signals installing my slow cooker on the counter top for the winter. One of my lifetime favorite comfort foods is curry and it’s a perfect partner with a slow cooker. Hours of exotic spices simmering will produce an alluring, fragrant dish to warm even the coldest of days.
My youngest memories of curry were of a chicken curry sporting a bright yellow tone severed over white (enriched I’m sure) rice with loads of condiments to sprinkle on top. Peanuts, shredded coconut, dried onions, chutneys, relish, and raisins created a wonderland of flavors and textures.
Shortly out of college I was working with a high tech company and moved to Singapore. When living in Singapore I had my real education about curry. Singapore was divided equally between Indian, Malaysian and Chinese cultures, with the Malay and Indian cuisines each boasting multiple types of curries. I realized curry powder as I had known it was a dumbed down version of a spice flavor without the depth one finds in traditional curries, which each have their own spice blend to make the curry flavoring.
Exploring curry on the food scene became my raison d’etre and whether at the hawker centers trying every food stall or the finer restaurants, I tried all the curry I could find. I brought home local curry recipes and friends have continued to bring me curry powders when traveling to Asia.
The reality is that most of us don’t have extra time to whip together curry powder from scratch, and that’s ok. There are classic blends available at many stores to enjoy a deeply flavorful curry. Madras Curry Powder originated in India and is a hotter variety of curry powder using chili powder as a key ingredient. It makes a very warming dish which I love in a vegetable curry.
Coconut milk is often used in curries providing a silky, smooth, cooling aspect to the blended flavors. I used a sweetened coconut milk finding a bit of sugar or sweetness is a wonderful offset to the spicy, savory flavors. A mix of sweet potatoes, cauliflower, bell pepper, onion, garbanzo beans and more make a hearty and filling dish.
Additional spices are added to the curry to bolster the flavor and spicy flavor signature. Should you prefer a more tame curry, decrease the Madras Curry Powder by half. Adding a bit of yogurt to the serving will lessen the heat too (traditionally dairy yogurt is the trick though I have read non-dairy yogurt also works).
A wonderful accompaniment for this curry recipe is homemade Quick Fresh Peach Chutney.
More Recipes You’ll Love!
- Spicy Madras Vegetable Curry
- Seychelles-Style Coconut Chicken Curry
- Thai Red Chicken Curry
- Chicken and Corn Curry
- Shrimp Curry
Recipe
Slow Cooker Spicy Indian Vegetable Curry with Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 1 large Sweet Potato (1 pound), peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
- ¼ cup Madras Curry Powder
- 2 tablespoons Cornstarch or Arrowroot Starch
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 large Yellow Sweet Pepper (or any other color)
- 1 medium Red Onion , halved and sliced into 1/4 -inch thick slices
- 1 medium head Cauliflower cut into florets (or bite size pieces)
- 1 large Carrot , peeled and sliced into 1/8-inch slices
- 4 medium Garlic Cloves , diced
- 1 1- inch piece Ginger Root , peeled and diced
- 1 25- ounce can Garbanzo Beans , drained
- 2 cups Silk Original Coconut Milk*
- 1 cup frozen Peas
Instructions
- Place the sweet potatoes on the bottom of large (7 quart) slow cooker.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the curry powder, cornstarch or arrowroot starch, cayenne, and red pepper flakes. Mix together and sprinkle onto the sweet potato cubes in the slow cooker.
- Layer on top the sweet pepper, onion, cauliflower, carrot, garlic, ginger, garbanzo beans and the coconut milk. Set the slow cooker to HIGH heat for 3 ½ hours. Stir a few times during the cooking to coat the vegetables with the liquid.
- At 3 ½ hours add the peas and stir into the curry. The curry is done when the sweet potatoes and carrots are cooked (usually 3 ½ hours or a bit longer).
Laurie says
Can this be doubled or tripled and frozen?
Toni Dash says
Hi Laurie. You can double or triple the recipe based on the volume of your slow cooker. Check the sweet potatoes for doneness if you do this. The curry may need to cook a bit longer and this how to test it’s done.
Regarding freezing, coconut milk recipes don’t always weather freezing and thawing without the consistency changing. The milk can separate and become grainy. So it’s safe to do but may not be exactly the same after freezing. Hope this helps!
Laurie says
Good to know! We will double and eat more fresh!! Thank you
p.j. says
It’s far more helpful if you show ONLY comments by people who have made the dish. I don’t really care about those saying it looks good. It’s to at all helpful or even interesting. Some recipe sites have caught on and wisely only show responses post-preparation. Thanks for considering this.
Toni Dash says
Hi P.J. I totally understand your point and agree with the value of comments from those sharing their recipe experience. Unfortunately we have no way to verify who has actually made the recipe or not. We love reader’s enthusiasm and wouldn’t want to exclude comments from those excited about our recipes, whether they have made them yet or not.
Christopher says
Just made a batch last night and ate for brunch this late morning. I have a ton of spices and seeds I picked up at a local Market and have been dying to try the madras curry with a simple low maintenance recipe.
This recipe definitely has some immediate and consistent heat- I’d recommend a yoghurt side or cutting back on the crushed red peppers.
Very delicious and filling.
Karlaroundtheworld | Karla says
It’s true, most of us won’t have the time to whip up our own curry. Recipes like this however, makes it much more feasible especially with a good premade pack like Madras.
Supriya Kutty says
These looks so incredibly yummy, I’m definitely going to have to try them out for myself. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Melisasource says
I love slow cooker meals! And this looks delicious, I’m going to have to give this a try.
Brianne says
I’m literally making a spreadsheet of all the new crock pot recipes I am seeing for fall. Definitely adding this one to the list!