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).
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).
Kita Bryant says
This meal looks delicious! I’ve never attempted this style before but would like to!
Colleen Lanin says
Yum! There’s nothing like a dish with that perfect blend of spicy and coolly sweet. I can’t wait to give this a try.
Catherine Sargent says
This looks really yummy. I have never had curry, but I would like to try it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Pam Wattenbarger says
Curry is so good! I haven’t made it myself in a while but I might have to try this recipe!
Mixed Reviews says
I bought some curry powder and I’ve been looking for a recipe to use it in and this looks like the one. Wow! I can only dream of how amazing this must taste! The ingredients list is amazing. Can’t wait to try it.
Brandy says
That looks delicious! I don’t think I’ve ever had curry before but I would love to try it!
Diana says
I love curry! Even more so after I went to Thailand, duck curry is my favorite. I’m so into trying more curry recipes, so thanks for sharing this, my mouth is seriously watering!
Toni Dash says
There really are so many different types of curry, aren’t there? And every culture that has them has multiple types, usually customized by family preferences. Duck Curry sounds great!
Kelly Hutchinson says
Oh wow! This look so delicious! I will definitely be trying this recipe over the weekend.
Chrystal | Nevermore Lane says
I loooooooove this style of food. I am big on Indian, Turkish and Mediterranean foods. Jasmine rice is my favorite rice to prepare with dished like this. Super happy about this recipe!
Theresa says
That’s so cool that you lived in Singapore for a bit. It seems so beautiful there, I’d love to visit and try their cuisine. In the meantime, this veggie curry sounds like a great recipe to tide me over until we get there 🙂
Susan says
How wonderful that you were able to live in Singapore! We’ve visited 5 times now (for 2 days at a time via cruise ship) and love it. I would love to have the opportunity to explore all the cuisines that flourish there. This curry sounds wonderful, but I think I would rather use garam masala, because I like the flavor better. I hope I can make this and have my husband enjoy it (not sure he will, even though I know he’ll try it).
Toni Dash says
I loved living there. It is definitely one of my favorite food towns. Since Garam Masala is added at the end of a recipe vs added for the full cooking time as with Madras curry powder, the Madras curry powder was a better fit for this slow cooker dish to develop a fully, spicy depth of flavor!
Marcie W. says
I am a total curry lover and this recipe seems to be chock full of hearty goodness. I appreciate the ease of being able to use my slow cooker as well.
Shilpa Shetty says
I’m from southern part of India, so we prepare this curry almost everyday, but different vegetables,.. 🙂
Annemarie LeBlanc says
Curry is not the same without coconut cream/milk. It just gives the right sweetness to compliment the spices. We love our chicken or beef curry, but I am very open to try this vegetable curry recipe too. Thank you for sharing!
Shannon Graham says
This looks really good! I’m always looking for new dinner recipes. Added this to my list!
Anjanette @MommaYoung says
Love love curry! I especially like new recipes integrating the flavor! We will definitely be trying this recipe as soon as possible.
Amanda Love says
This is something that I will enjoy. I love the combination of the flavors and it’s perfect for the colder nights of the year! This is why I love having a crock pot, you can just throw everything in.
Ann Bacciaglia says
I am always looking for new slow cooker recipes to try. This looks so delicious and easy to make. I will have to get the ingredients I need to make some this week.
Gervin Khan says
Oh, I love dishes with coconut milk. It has a rich taste that I really love, I will try this recipe.
Nicole Escat says
I want to try this, we love chicken curry with coconut milk. This one sounds really yummy.
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!
Melisasource says
I love slow cooker meals! And this looks delicious, I’m going to have to give this a try.
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.
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.